Billion-dollar Deals in Radiopharmaceuticals Catch Investor Attention

What are radiopharmaceuticals?

When a complete dosage form is expected to diagnose, monitor treatment effectiveness or provide therapy, and that form is composed of radioactive material and at least one more ingredient, it’s called a radiopharmaceutical.

That definition includes any non-radioactive reagent or radionuclide generator used in preparing said substance. Radiopharmaceutical and radioactive drugs are interchangeable terms under nuclear medicine.

The nuclear regulators of a country manage all radioactive material. As prescription drugs, radiopharmaceuticals are also regulated by other state actors, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostics

Medical professionals use radiopharmaceuticals to produce images in scintigraphy, also called radionuclide scanning.

First, a tiny portion of a radionuclide is injected or swallowed. Specialists use different radionuclides, according to which organ(s) they’re studying.

Second, as a gamma camera detects gamma rays emitted by the radioisotope, a computer forms the image of where radionuclides gather, indicating the possible presence of cancer cells.

Also called radionuclide scanning, this non-invasively produces images of the body part viewed.

The radioactivity dose is similar to an X-ray and dissipates within days.

Radiopharmaceutical innovation

Diagnostics and treatment both benefit from radiopharmaceuticals. Researchers are hard at work developing and testing radiopharmaceuticals against various cancers, including colorectal cancer, leukemia, lung cancer and melanoma. Tumours with molecules on the surfaces of their cells that can be targeted and have enough blood flow to deliver drugs are good candidates for radiopharmaceutical treatment.

Specific drugs help to identify tumour markers and ease the locating and staging of cancerous lesions. They allow for tailored targeted therapy and improved monitoring of treatment effectiveness.

Choosing the correctly reacting radioactive element lets diagnosticians see the small details of working cells. Diseases are discovered earlier than with other methods.

Then, these nuclear medicine drugs move from diagnosis to treatment, becoming theranostic agents. Theranostics employs a radioactive drug to diagnose, and a second radioactive drug to treat the main and metastatic tumours. Each case must be tailored to the patient to achieve the best treatment and the least harm.

In imaging and theranostics, radiopharmaceuticals blend scientific innovation, existing knowledge and patient care. They have changed medicine by directing specialists toward precise treatments focused on efficacy, safety and patient wellbeing.

Radiopharm Theranostics is among those leading the charge in radiopharmaceutical innovation, developing diagnostics and therapeutic applications through its licensed platform technologies. The company has a diverse pipeline of products in both pre-clinical and clinical stages.

Oncological applications

While small doses help diagnose medical problems, in large doses certain radiopharmaceuticals treat some cancers and other diseases. When attached to the affected tissue, the radioactive agent releases energy that damages cancerous tumours.

A radioisotope commonly used in nuclear medicine is technetium-99m, which when attached to different molecules permits diagnosing several diseases, including some cancers.

Technetium-99m-MDP (methylene diphosphonate), for example, is used to detect bone metastasis linked with cancer.

Radioactive iodine collects in thyroid cells and can be used to subdue thyroid cancer. Radium-233 (Xofigo) is similar to calcium and is used as a treatment when prostate cancer metastasises into the bones.

Radiopharm Theranostics’ FDA-approved investigational new drug 18-Pivalate (RAD 101), with the radioisotope F18, is a small molecule that targets fatty acids synthase, which is overexpressed in brain tumours but not in normal cells. The company’s Phase 2 imaging trial of 18-Pivalate involving patients with brain metastases has shown some positive results.

Potential opportunities

Data Bridge Market Research found the global radiopharmaceutical market is expected to be $12.18 billion by 2030.

A report by Future Market Insights shows a worldwide valuation of $6.97 billion in 2024. As public awareness of radioisotope medications grows, that valuation is expected to grow 3.4 percent from 2024 to 2034, and reach beyond $11.63 billion by 2034.

One of the largest groups, if not the largest, in the radiopharmaceutical market is cancer patients. They require radionuclide-infused medications to slow or stop the spreading of tumours.

Investor takeaway

The investment community has started to recognize the potential market growth for radiopharmaceuticals, given the active M&A and investment activities in the space. This could be an opportune time to examine some investment opportunities.

Dave Chappelle is a freelance writer based in Ontario.

This INNSpired article is sponsored by Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD). This INNSpired article provides information which was sourced by the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by Radiopharm Theranosticsin order to help investors learn more about the company. Radiopharm Theranostics is a client of INN. The company’s campaign fees pay for INN to create and update this INNSpired article.

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