WuXi AppTec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.

The partnership brings together BoomRay’s development experience in RLTs and Novartis’s global presence in the field. Credit: Michael Derrer Fuchs / Shutterstock.com. China-based clinical-stage biotechnology company BoomRay Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Pharma have signed an exclusive worldwide licence deal for an undisclosed preclinical radioligand therapy (RLT) asset in a deal worth up to $900m. The agreement includes an upfront payment, as well as potential development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments for BoomRay, along with possible royalties on future global net sales. The partnership combines BoomRay’s development experience in RLTs and Novartis’s global presence in the field. BoomRay focuses on advancing radioligand therapies for precision oncology diagnostics and therapeutics, with activities across candidate discovery, radiochemistry, and clinical translation. BoomRay CEO Bo Shan said: “This agreement marks a significant milestone for BoomRay and is a strong validation of our discovery and development capabilities. We believe this agreement with Novartis will unlock the full potential of this asset and accelerate its path to patients worldwide.” Novartis oncology, biomedical research global head Shiva Malek said: “Radioligand therapies represent an important frontier in oncology, and at Novartis, we remain focused on driving breakthrough science that can expand their potential for patients. “Our agreement with BoomRay complements our growing radioligand therapy portfolio and reflects our strategy of combining external innovation with our cutting-edge research and development capabilities. “We look forward to advancing this promising programme and helping to bring new treatment options to patients around the world.” BFC Group served as the financial adviser to BoomRay in this transaction. BoomRay is advancing a pipeline of radiopharmaceutical candidates and operates a fully integrated research and development platform with a focus on addressing unmet medical needs in oncology. In May 2024, Novartis strengthened its position in the radiopharmaceutical sector by acquiring Mariana Oncology for an upfront payment of $1bn, and up to an additional $750m tied to milestone achievements.

iStock, Evgeny Gromov Novartis is the current radiopharma leader with two FDA-approved therapies in Pluvicto and Lutathera. Novartis has exclusively licensed a preclinical radioligand therapy from Suzhou-based BoomRay Pharmaceuticals in a deal that could reach up to $900 million. The deal value potential encompasses an undisclosed upfront payment from Novartis, as well as possible development, regulatory and sales milestone payments BoomRay could receive, according to a Tuesday news release . The Chinese biotech is also eligible to receive royalties on future net sales. Novartis declined to disclose specifics about the newly licensed asset’s indication or targets, but said in an email to BioSpace that BoomRay’s preclinical candidate “aligns with our strategy to expand and strengthen our radioligand therapy portfolio with high-potential, complementary programs.” Novartis has consistently led in the radiopharma space, with two FDA-approved therapies: Lutathera , approved for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, and Pluvicto , indicated for prostate cancer. The products made $816 million and nearly $2 billion in revenues last year, respectively. The pharma is also working on an investigational next-gen Actinium-225-based therapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), currently in Phase 3 development with an FDA submission planned for 2028 . Earlier this year, Novartis’ investigational radiopharma pipeline was hit by a setback when the pharma discontinued a mid-stage asset based on Lutetium-177 as “early clinical data did not support advancing it to the next stage of development,” a spokesperson told BioSpace at the time. As for Novartis’ new partner BoomRay, the China company takes an integrated approach to diagnosis and treatment, using its radio-coupled assets to identify patients most likely to benefit from intervention and then delivering tumor-targeting radioligand therapies (RLT), according to an English translation of the biotech’s website . Manufacturing Western licensing deals for Chinese radioligand therapies to jump in 2027, Sleuth forecasts Deals for Chinese radiopharmaceutical assets have been rare to date and there is a limited pool of potential Western buyers available, Sleuth said. September 21, 2026 · 2 min read · Nick Paul Taylor Read more Novartis’ deal with BoomRay prefaces what intelligence platform Sleuth predicted to be an increase in radioligand licensing deals between Western and Chinese companies in 2027. This projected growth reflects the rise of Western companies that have established their own supply chains that can support radioligand therapies licensed from China. These assets are radioactive, meaning they have specific handling and regulatory requirements and must reach patients before the isotope decays. “The value of China’s pipeline accrues to whoever in the West owns the RLT infrastructure,” Sleuth noted. Elsewhere in the radiopharma space, Telix earlier this week acquired ITM Isotope Technologies Munich for $1.65 billion up front—plus up to $700 million in milestones—in what William Blair called a “supercritical” deal since it bolsters the Australian developer’s manufacturing capabilities. ITM’s radiopharma asset was rejected last month over manufacturing problems.

As an imposing new competitor begins to take shape, radiopharma leader Novartis has beefed up its pipeline by licensing a preclinical radioligand therapy from a specialist Chinese biotech. BoomRay Therapeutics, based in the eastern city of Suzhou, can receive as much as $900 million from the Swiss drug giant, including an upfront payment as well as potential royalties and milestones tied to development, regulatory progress and sales. "Radioligand therapies represent an important frontier in oncology, and at Novartis, we remain focused on driving breakthrough science that can expand their potential for patients," Shiva Malek, Ph.D., Novartis’ global head of oncology biomedical research, said in a release. "Our agreement with BoomRay complements our growing radioligand therapy portfolio and reflects our strategy of combining external innovation with our cutting-edge research and development capabilities.” Details of the licensed program were not disclosed. BoomRay’s pipeline is led by a brain tumor diagnostic containing fluorine-18 as well as theranostics for solid tumors that target fibroblast activation protein and Nectin-4. “This agreement marks a significant milestone for BoomRay and is a strong validation of our discovery and development capabilities,” BoomRay CEO Bo Shan, Ph.D., said in the release. The pickup comes not long after Novartis ditched a midstage radioligand asset due to disappointing data. At the time of that July decision, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Fierce that the company’s commitment to the modality “remains completely unchanged.” Novartis dominates the radioligand market with Pluvicto and Lutathera, used to treat prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors respectively. But the field’s competitive landscape shifted dramatically yesterday when Australian radiopharma Telix Pharmaceuticals announced it was acquiring ITM Isotope Technologies, the supplier of the lutetium-177 isotope used in Pluvicto. Telix paid $1.65 billion upfront primarily to secure ITM’s lead radioligand candidate ITM-11, which was recently rejected by the FDA on manufacturing grounds. The drug was submitted for approval to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, making it a direct rival to Lutathera. ITM plans to refile with the FDA, and solidifying a path to approval is a key condition for the Telix buyout to close. Analysts celebrated the merger, with William Blair experts noting the combined company could become a “global radiopharmaceutical powerhouse.”