MUNICH & GARCHING, GERMANY & LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND -- ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE (ITM), a leading radiopharmaceutical biotech company and Debiopharm (www.debiopharm.com), a Swiss-based, global biopharmaceutical company, aiming to establish tomorrow’s standard-of-care to cure cancer and infectious diseases, announced that the companies entered an agreement under which ITM gains the exclusive global license for the clinical and commercial development of the peptide-based, theranostic pair ITM-91/ITM-94D, formerly Debio 0228/0328, targeting the Carbonic Anhydrase IX (CA IX) surface protein. CA IX plays a key role in the tumor microenvironment, promoting tumor growth, survival, invasion and metastasis. ITM-91 (Debio 0228) ([177Lu]Lu-DPI-4452) is a Lutetium-177-labeled radioligand therapeutic compound and ITM-94D (Debio 0328) ([68Ga]Ga-DPI-4452) is a Gallium-68-labeled imaging agent. The theranostic pair is being investigated in the phase 1/2 GaLuCi™(NCT05706129) clinical trial in patients living with locally advanced ccRCC, PDAC and CRC. Further terms and financial details have not been disclosed.

“Obtaining this clinical-stage theranostic pairing significantly bolsters our radiopharmaceutical pipeline and reinforces our commitment to delivering life-changing diagnostic and therapeutic agents to patients. Adding a clinical stage theranostic pair that targets the critical CA IX protein aligns seamlessly with our mission to expand access to innovative radiopharmaceuticals on a global scale,” said Dr. Andrew Cavey, CEO of ITM. “We see great potential for CA IX-targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies. We look forward to advancing the GaLuCi™ trial and to building the optimal clinical strategy for this molecule.”

“Curing patients is our mission. Through this agreement with ITM, we hope to bring breakthrough solutions to patients living with hard-to-treat cancer types. We’re extremely pleased that the trial data generated to-date for our imaging radiotracer have provided high-quality images with high tumor uptake and excellent tumor-to-background ratios. Debio 0328’s outstanding potential as a stand-alone imaging agent has also boosted our confidence for the upcoming evaluation of Debio 0228, the therapeutic agent. As development continues, we are grateful to be able to rely on ITM’s radiopharmaceutical expertise to advance research for patients,” said Bertrand Ducrey, CEO of Debiopharm.

Debiopharm is a drug development expert with an evolving radioligand therapy pipeline and strong pre-clinical and clinical competence in this field. Their unique business model allows Debiopharm to continuously bridge the gap between innovative discoveries and leading pharmaceutical companies for commercialization. As the globally leading manufacturer of n.c.a. Lutetium-177 and with a broad pipeline of radiopharmaceutical diagnostic and therapeutic candidates, ITM will use its production capabilities and clinical expertise to advance this theranostic pair.

“Patients with advanced renal cancer often have a long and difficult journey, with recurrence after surgery not infrequent and limited treatment options following immune-oncology or tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. I have high hopes for trials like GaLuCi™ will finally shift the odds defining both a new PET/CT scan and targeted treatment option,” said Prof. Michael Hofman, Peter MacCallum Cancer of Melbourne and investigator of the Phase 1/2 GaLuCi™ study.

“Theranostic approaches are a very exciting treatment modality for patients with hard-to-treat malignancies due to their potential to target specific surface proteins, often regardless of tumor origin. This technique has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with advanced-staged prostate cancer and we are hoping to bring it to the forefront of treatment for kidney cancer,” added Darren R. Feldman, MD, Medical Oncologist, Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and investigator of the Phase 1/2 GaLuCi™ study.