Biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceutical firm Telix Pharmaceuticals announced a 50/50 collaboration to jointly develop and commercialize oncological radiopharmaceutical therapies.

Per the agreement, Regeneron will pay Telix US$40 million to access Telix’s radiopharmaceutical manufacturing platform for the four initial therapeutic programs. Regeneron also may provide additional payments in the future to access four additional programs.

Telix and Regeneron will evenly split both the commercialization costs and potential profits, with Telix retaining the option to co-promote certain potential products.

Regeneron brings biologics expertise to the collaboration, while Telix brings its radiopharmaceutical development platform. John Lin, SVP of Oncology & Antibody Technology Research at Regeneron, said, “We’ll be utilizing [Telix’s] manufacturing capabilities and supply chain infrastructure while focusing on our core antibody expertise and experience in oncology.”

Lin praised the partnership in a correspondence with BioProcess Insider, telling us that an expansion into radiopharmaceutical development fits perfectly into Regeneron’s long-term goals.

“This collaboration was a natural next step for us,” he said. “Regeneron is always committed to following the science, and this often means applying a wide range of therapeutic approaches to treat different diseases. This collaboration further broadens our oncology toolbox to include targeted radiopharmaceuticals as a complementary modality that offers an exciting opportunity to advance new treatment options for patients.”

The partnership includes multiple solid tumor targets from Regeneron’s portfolio of fully human antibodies, generated from the antibody technology in the firm’s patented VelocImmune humanized mice.

“The collaboration with Regeneron reflects a highly complementary set of capabilities and a unique opportunity to explore what true ‘next gen’ biologics-based radiopharmaceuticals can potentially do for patients,” said Christian Behrenbruch, managing director and group CEO at Telix, in a public statement. “We are well positioned to work toward the shared goal of advancing next generation precision radiopharmaceuticals for patients with hard-to-treat cancers.”

The companies will also jointly develop diagnostic assets. In this venture, Telix will lead commercialization and Regeneron will receive a set percentage of profits.

Said Lin, “Together, we are bringing our respective strengths to meaningfully advance this rapidly emerging frontier in oncology.”