Australia’s Telix Pharmaceuticals has completed a product collaboration and purchase option agreement with Atlab Pharma.

Under the agreement, Telix will finance the manufacturing and clinical development of the huJ591 monoclonal antibody (mAb) radio-labelled with 177Lu (Lutetium) and 211At (Astatine).

Both of them are promising ‘theranostic’ products to treat metastatic prostate cancer.

The huJ591 mAb was originally developed by Dr Neil Bander at the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York and targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).

Telix Pharmaceuticals CEO Chris Behrenbruch said: "PSMA targeting radiopharmaceuticals have shown great promise in both the diagnostic and therapeutic setting, dramatically increasing the interest in targeted radionuclide therapy by mainstream biopharma.

"The 177Lu-huJ591 programme is the most clinically advanced PSMA programme and has extensive patient experience, including in conjunction with anti-androgens and chemotherapy."

Telix and Atlab will team up to manufacture clinical material and work to execute a Phase IIb trial to treat men with metastatic prostate cancer.

Atlab co-founder and chief medical adviser professor Jean-François Chatal said: "In the clinic, we have seen targeted radionuclide therapy deliver impressive treatment responses, even in late-stage patients.

"We are especially keen to use programmes such as 177Lu-huJ591 in conjunction with other immuno-oncology agents that have generally demonstrated lacklustre performance in the mCRPC setting."

The cell surface antigen PSMA has relatively little normal expression in normal tissues. It represents a validated and promising target for various therapeutic strategies, especially radiopharmaceuticals.

The huJ591 mAb is the clinically advanced anti-PSMA antibody, with several hundred patient doses for both imaging and therapy.