Ratio Therapeutics and Ionetix have inked separate deals to boost production of the much-needed radioisotope actinium-225, which is helping fuel the explosive growth of radiopharmaceuticals in cancer treatment.
On Ratio's end, the company has linked up with Bill Gates-founded TerraPower Isotopes, which will supply undisclosed quantities of non-cGMP actinium-225 to incorporate into or use in the development of Ratio's radiopharmaceuticals, the company said in a June 20 press release.
Ratio said that it needs a “reliable supply” of the radioisotope to support its pipeline leveraging the company's Trillium and Macropa platforms. The two platforms are equipped to design and develop new radiopharmaceuticals that can selectively target and eradicate cancer cells, the company said.
"Securing a reliable supply of Actinium-225 is a critical step in advancing our pipeline of targeted alpha therapies," John Babich, Ph.D., Ratio’s president and chief executive, said in the release.
Separately, Michigan-based isotope manufacturer Ionetix inked a deal to commercialize cyclotron-produced actinium-225 with Dutch deeptech firm AlfaRim. A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator used to make medical radioisotopes from non-radioactive materials, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The pact is designed to help boost the ‘near-term scale-up” of actinium-225 in a bid to build a sustainable, commercial-scale supply of the isotope for next-generation targeted alpha therapies, Ionetix and AlfaRim said in a June 20 press release.
Neither Ratio nor Ionetix disclosed financial details of their respective deals.
The radiopharmaceutical industry—which has enjoyed explosive growth in recent years and is forecasted by Insight Partners to swell to $26.5 billion in 2031—hinges on the steady supply of radioisotopes like actinium-225. Production of actinium-225 has historically been lacking though, particularly for large-scale clinical trials, partly because the isotope isn't naturally abundant and is typically produced as a byproduct from the decay of thorium-229.
AlfaRim has developed methods to produce actinium-225 at the industrial scale using technology that bombards radium-225 with protons. The company is currently working on a Dutch manufacturing facility utilizing the tech that it says has the potential to increase the global supply of actinium-225 tenfold.
“We are excited to be working with AlfaRim to bring these desperately needed radioisotopes to patients globally,” Kevin Cameron, CEO at Ionetix, said in the companies' joint release. “Reliable commercial supply will be crucial to ensuring patients get the benefits of these treatments.”
In another deal announced on June 17, Ratio signed an agreement for radioisotope supplier Nusano to provide access to commercial-scale supplies of copper-64 for PET imaging diagnostics, plus the medical isotopes lutetium-177 and actinium-225. Lutetium-177 is typically used in therapies designed to treat malignancies like neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer.
The financial terms of the Nusano deal were not disclosed.