Lilly to enter radioligand therapy space with POINT Biopharma buy

04 Oct 2023
firstwordpharma.com
AcquisitionPhase 3Drug ApprovalLicense out/in
Eli Lilly entered into a definitive agreement to acquire POINT Biopharma for $12.50 per share in cash, or approximately $1.4 billion, in a move that could broaden its oncology portfolio with the eventual addition of radioligand therapies. Jacob Van Naarden, president of Eli Lilly's oncology unit Loxo@Lilly, stated Tuesday when the deal was announced that "we…see the acquisition of POINT as the beginning of our investment in developing multiple meaningful radioligand medicines for hard-to-treat cancers." The deal comes at an 87% premium to POINT's closing stock price on October 2. It has also been approved by the boards of both companies, and is expected to close this year. POINT's lead programmes include the PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy PNT2002, with top-line data from the Phase III SPLASH study in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after progression on hormonal treatment expected later this quarter. Another asset, PNT2003, is an SSTR-targeted radioligand being developed for patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs). Lantheus licensed exclusive rights to both under a deal late last year worth up to $2 billion. POINT has some earlier stage programmes as well, including PNT2004, which is being developed for solid tumours expressing FAP, and PNT2001, a preclinical PSMA-directed radioligand for prostate cancer. Chasing Novartis Meanwhile, Novartis has been one of the major players in the radioligand space, with Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) and Pluvicto (lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) already on the market for patients with GEP-NETs and PSMA-positive prostate cancer, respectively. PNT2002 is expected to compete with Pluvicto, which was cleared in the US and Europe in 2022. For more, see Spotlight On: Radiopharmaceutical developers continue raking in cash. FirstWord also caught up with Jeevan Virk, Novartis' global head of radioligand therapy, earlier this year for an interview. Launched in 2020, POINT inked a deal to go public a year later via a $300-million SPAC merger, with the proceeds earmarked to fund studies for its prostate and neuroendocrine cancer treatments. It also operates a radiopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Eli Lilly's home base of Indianapolis, as well as a radiopharmaceutical R&D centre in Toronto. The sites will be used alongside POINT's network of supply-chain partners for sourcing radioisotopes and their precursors, the companies said. Commenting on the news, Truist Securities analysts said that along with expanding Eli Lilly’s oncology portfolio to include radioligands and “bringing in radioisotope manufacturing in-house,” the deal “bodes well for the overall radiopharma space, further validating the platform as another pillar of medicine.” Eli Lilly's acquisitions this year include the $2.4-billion buyout of Dice Therapeutics, which is developing an oral treatment for autoimmune disease, and a deal worth up to $1.9 billion for Versanis Bio, gaining the experimental weight-loss drug bimagrumab.
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