Just two years into its existence, radioisotope producer PanTera has drawn 93 million euros ($102.5 million) in an oversubscribed Series A investment round, led by EQT Life Sciences.
It is the largest Series A round ever for a Belgian company in the life sciences sector, according to EQT, and is evidence of the booming interest in radiopharmaceuticals for their ability to precisely target cancer cells.
While there are many small-scale producers of radioisotopes, PanTera has established its niche by developing a patented production method that allows it to potentially become a large-scale producer of actinium-225 (225-Ac), which is the key ingredient needed to manufacture targeted alpha therapies.
The investment will largely support the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Belgium. The funding round also includes some debt and convertible loan funding, bringing its total to 134 million euros ($148 million).
“PanTera is looking to radically improve supply in the short and long term,” PanTera CEO Sven Van den Berghe, said in a release. “The size of this raise is testament to our strategy, our unique assets and our capabilities. We are working alongside very experienced partners with a combined expertise and a network that goes well beyond 225-Ac production and encompasses all aspects of the radiopharmaceutical revolution.”
One of those partners on the manufacturing side is Bill Gates-founded TerraPower Isotopes, which extracts 225-Ac from legacy nuclear material in the U.S.
On the supply side, PanTera signed on seven months ago with Bayer to provide it with 225-Ac for clinical trials. It was PanTera’s first deal with a major drugmaker. In March, PanTera announced (PDF) another supply deal with an undisclosed company.
As many companies are scaling up for clinical trials, demand for 225-Ac is swelling. In addition to developing its large-scale manufacturing capability, PanTera is already supplying 225-Ac through an alternative production method, the company said.
Before starting its commercial production, PanTera expects to have secured agreements for more than 80% of its capacity.
“It is clear to us that PanTera has the expertise, assets and strategy in place to address the critical actinium-225 supply shortage faced by the pharmaceutical industry today, as well as the significant increase in demand expected in the future,” Martijn Kleijwegt, a partner at EQT, said in the release.
PanTera was established as a joint venture by particle accelerator technology specialist IBA and the Belgium government’s nuclear research center SCK CEN.
In December of last year, Bristol Myers Squibb entered the radiopharma race with a $4.1 billion acquisition of RayzeBio, paying more than triple what the biotech secured during its IPO when it went public just three months previous. The draw for BMS was RayzeBio’s platform based on 225-Ac.
Back in June, RayzeBio had to halt enrollment in a trial of its lead candidate, RYZ101, because of supply shortfalls for the radioisotope. In July, RayzeBio said that the trial's enrollment has resumed.
Radiopharma trailblazer Novartis has had pancreatic cancer drug Lutathera on the market since 2018, with its follow-on Pluvicto arriving in 2022. Those were developed using the beta-emitting isotope lutetium-177, the predecessor of 225-Ac. Last week, Novartis revealed that it would bring its radiopharmaceutical production in-house and was building a production facility in California, its third such site in the US.
The radiopharmaceutical market is expected to grow from $7 billion this year to $39 billion by 2032.