Telix Pharmaceuticals and Ekalia have entered into a collaboration to advance scalable production of astatine-211 (At-211) in the United States. The alpha-emitting radioisotope is being investigated for use in targeted alpha therapy (TAT) for cancer.
Ekalia, a company in formation, is a joint venture between IBA (Ion Beam Applications) and Framatome. The partners aim to establish a network of industrial-scale astatine-211 production sites across Europe and North America.
The collaboration combines IBA’s specialised alpha-beam cyclotron technology, Framatome’s nuclear and isotope production expertise, and Telix’s US radiopharmacy and last-mile infrastructure, clinical portfolio and radiopharmaceutical development capabilities.
Astatine-211 is considered a promising alpha-emitting radioisotope for developing innovative cancer treatments. However, its broader adoption remains constrained by limited production capacity.
Under the agreement, Ekalia will leverage Telix’s radiopharmaceutical network, RLS Radiopharmacies (RLS), and operational capabilities to accelerate the commissioning of its first production unit in the US. The first installation is planned at RLS Trevose in Pennsylvania, with the potential for further rollout across the RLS network as demand grows.
“Making Astatine-211 more widely available requires not only technological expertise, but also the ability to build reliable production capacity where it is needed,” said Bruno Scutnaire, CEO of Ekalia.
“By leveraging Telix’s existing capabilities in the United States, we can move faster towards establishing our first US production unit, while laying the foundations for Ekalia’s broader development in the country,” he added.
For Telix, the collaboration is expected to support the development of several early-stage therapeutic candidates, including TLX102-Tx (At-211 astato-L-phenylalanine), a targeted alpha therapy being evaluated for glioblastoma and leptomeningeal disease, as well as future Astatine-211 programmes.
The collaboration will also provide production capacity for third-party academic and industry programmes, helping to expand the US astatine-211 development ecosystem. Under the agreement, Telix will have secured access to a portion of the isotope’s production capacity.
Chad Watkins, general manager, Isotope Strategy at Telix, said, “This collaboration gives Telix a dedicated, long-term source of astatine-211 to advance our alpha therapy pipeline, and demonstrates the strategic value of the RLS platform as a host for next-generation isotope production in the US.”
Following Ekalia’s planned first production site in France, the collaboration marks another step towards establishing an international production network to support the development of astatine-211-based targeted alpha therapies for cancer.
