The Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price is on watch this morning following an announcement that it has received a major research grant for the development of drugs for a range of cancers.
At the time of writing, Telix shares are trading 10.62% lower at $1.01, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 5.70%.
What does Telix Pharmaceuticals do?
Telix is a company focused on the development of diagnostic and therapeutic products using Molecularly Targeted Radiation (MTR) in the clinical-stage. The company is headquartered in Melbourne and has international operations in Belgium, Japan and the United States. Telix is developing a range of clinical-stage oncology products for renal, prostate and brain cancer.
Details of new research grant
This morning, Telix announced to the market that it is a co-recipient of a $500,000 research grant from the Australian Government-funded Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC). The grant will be used for research and development targeted at progressing the manufacturing capabilities in Australia for prostate, kidney and neuroendocrine cancers using MTR drugs.
The new treatment will combine technology in a very targeted way in the areas of radiotherapy, peptide and antibody in regards to the diagnosis and treatment of a range of cancers including prostate and kidney cancers. A series of MTR drugs will be produced using a number of radioisotopes.
The acceleration in the development of this new approach to cancer diagnosis and treatment has been driven by strong recent advances in manufacturing. Australia is currently a world leader in the research and production of MTR drug prototypes.
Other organisations that are co-recipients of this grant include Cyclotek, GenesisCare, iPHASE Technologies, and Bio21 Institute from the University of Melbourne. Along with Telix, these organisations form part of a Melbourne-based group brought together by the IMCRC.
Commenting on today's announcement, Telix's Director of Research & Development, Dr Michael Wheatcroft, said: "We expect this IMCRC funded project, which employs carrier compounds designed for use with longer half-life radioisotopes, will capitalise on the extraordinary radiopharmaceutical expertise we have in Australia."
"This work will enable this new approach to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer to be offered to many more patients in need, including via export of radiopharmaceutical products from Australia with a far longer shelf-life," he added.
Recent FDA update
Back on February 25, Telix announced it had received positive feedback from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in relation to the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) for TLX591-CDx. This new application drug is a radiopharmaceutical cold kit for the preparation of 68Ga-PSMA-11 injection.
At the time, the company advised that the timeline to submission of the complete NDA package would be approximately 30 to 60 days.
