S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) is slipping today.
Shares in the diagnostic and therapeutic product developer closed yesterday trading for $26.61. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are swapping hands for $26.47 apiece, down 0.5%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.9% at this same time.
Despite today's market-driven dip, the Telix share price is up an impressive 136% over 12 months.
Here's what's happening today.
ASX 200 share expands treatment pipeline
This morning Telix announced that it had completed the transaction to expand its theranostic pipeline with new candidates targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP). This is one of the most promising pan-cancer targets in nuclear medicine.
The ASX 200 share initially reported in November that it had entered into asset purchase and exclusive worldwide in-license agreements for a suite of clinically validated FAP-targeting therapeutic and precision medicine radiopharmaceutical candidates developed by Professor Frank Rosch.
Telix said it has added the lead FAP-targeting therapeutic compound to its pipeline under the name TLX400 and is building out a theranostic development program in bladder cancer.
The company said the assets it has acquired are differentiated by a novel structure that drives extended tumour retention while minimising off-target uptake, potentially overcoming the limitations seen with first-generation compounds.
The diagnostic and therapeutic compounds have been clinically validated in more than 500 patients.
The ASX 200 share paid 5.3 million euros in cash in addition to the 700,000 euros paid upfront at the agreement signing. Telix will pay another 4.0 million euros over the next 12 months, subject to potential indemnity setoff.
The exclusive worldwide license agreement is with SCV GmbH, where Professor Rosch is CEO, and a concurrently signed asset purchase agreement with Medianezia GmbH.
The two German companies collectively hold the intellectual property rights to the FAP-targeting assets. Telix said it will pay up to another 132 million euros, contingent upon the achievement of certain clinical development and regulatory milestones related to both the diagnostic and therapeutic candidates under both agreements.
What did management say?
Commenting on the acquisition that could offer long-term support for the ASX 200 share, Telix CEO, Therapeutics, Richard Valeix, said:
We are pleased to have finalised this transaction so that we can continue to leverage the FAP-targeting research pioneered by Professor Rosch and his team.
We believe this technology holds great promise for both imaging and treating tumours, and Telix is now focused on using these compounds to build out our urology franchise and explore pan-cancer opportunities, with the goal of bringing new theranostic solutions to physicians and their patients.
