The US radiopharmaceuticals giant Lantheus is snapping up the Contract Development and Manufacturing (CDMO) Evergreen Theragnostics as it expands its radiopharmaceuticals business.
The deal, which is expected to close in late 2025, is intended to absorb Evergreen’s manufacturing capabilities and radiopharmaceutical pipeline. One of the star attractions is the diagnostic imaging compound Octevy, which is awaiting an approval decision from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in positron emission tomography (PET) for the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).
Also read → C Ray Therapeutics raises $100 million to develop radiopharmaceuticals
In return, Lantheus will pay a $250m upfront payment in addition to $752.5m in payments related to sales and development milestones. Lantheus used Solomon Partners Securities as a financial advisor in the deal, with other advisors including Cooley, Ropes & Gray, and Ernst & Young.
Octevy could strengthen Lantheus’ diagnostic portfolio
The decision comes less than a month after Lantheus snapped up Germany’s Life Molecular Imaging for up to $750m to nab its approved Alzheimer’s diagnostic F-18 PET imaging agent Neuraceq.
“As Lantheus continues to advance its industry leadership, this transaction, along with the agreement to acquire Life Molecular Imaging, enhances our operations across the radiopharmaceutical value chain,” said Lantheus CEO Brian Markison in a public statement. “With Evergreen’s manufacturing and development capabilities, we become fully integrated and will ultimately make a difference in the lives of more patients.”
Radiopharmaceuticals are fuelling industry growth
Radiopharmaceuticals consist of compounds containing radioactive isotopes that are guided to a part of the body where they can be used to detect or blast cells expressing disease targets such as cancer cells.
These drugs are gaining momentum in the industry as they can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic pairs by switching the type of isotope used in the compound. This is translating to a global market that is growing by 8.2% from $6.74bn in 2024 to $13.67bn in 2033.
Lantheus is developing its own pipeline of radiopharmaceutical drugs including PNT2003 for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic NETs, which could make a diagnostic and therapeutic pair with Octevy.
The field of radiopharmaceuticals is also attracting major investor attention, with start-ups raising hefty funding rounds in the last few years including Abdera Therapeutics, Aktis Oncology and C Ray Therapeutics. Other major takeover deals involving radiopharmaceuticals include the acquisition of Fusion by AstraZeneca for $2bn and the takeover of Mariana Oncology by Novartis for $1 billion last year.
