Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing next-generation radio pharmaceuticals as precision medicines, and Niowave, Inc., a manufacturer of medical radioisotopes from radium and uranium, today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration and supply agreement for the development, production, and supply of actinium-225. Under the agreement, Fusion will invest up to $5 million in Niowave to further develop their technology to increase current production capacity of actinium-225, and in return Fusion will have guaranteed access to a pre-determined percentage of Niowave's capacity of the resulting actinium-225, as well as preferred access to any excess supply produced. As part of the agreement, Fusion will also have an option to invest in future production of actinium-225 to scale with Fusion's needs.
"As excitement for the tumor-killing potential of alpha-emitting radio pharmaceuticals increases, we intend to stay at the forefront of actinium development and supply to support our growing pipeline of targeted alpha therapies. We continue to prioritize manufacturing and access to actinium as a critical component of Fusion's platform, and our partnership with Niowave further strengthens and diversifies our supply chain as we advance multiple actinium-based radio pharmaceuticals in the clinic."
Fusion Chief Executive Officer John Valliant, Ph.D
"The Niowave team has worked hard to scale up our actinium-225 production to the millicurie level and this has allowed us to start working with oncology community partners," said Niowave Chief Executive Officer/Senior Scientist Terry Grimm, Ph.D. "We have been watching Fusion's progress in the development of their pipeline of targeted alpha therapies and we are very excited to partner with them on this journey."
Fusion is developing actinium-based TATs leveraging the potency and precision offered by alpha particles. Actinium-225 decay gives off four alpha emissions in relatively rapid succession, maximizing the damage to the DNA of tumor cells, with a 10-day half life that allows for central manufacturing and distribution of products to clinical sites in a ready-to-use form.
About Fusion
Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage oncology company focused on developing next-generation radiopharmaceuticals as precision medicines. Fusion connects alpha particle emitting isotopes to various targeting molecules in order to selectively deliver the alpha emitting payloads to tumors. Fusion's lead program, FPI-1434 targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor, is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The pipeline includes FPI-1966, targeting the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), advancing to a Phase 1 study following the investigational new drug (IND) clearance; and FPI-2059, a small molecule targeting neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1). In addition to a robust proprietary pipeline, Fusion has a collaboration with AstraZeneca to jointly develop novel targeted alpha therapies (TATs) and combination programs between Fusion's TATs and AstraZeneca's DNA Damage Repair Inhibitors (DDRis) and immuno-oncology agents. Fusion has also entered into a collaboration with Merck to evaluate FPI-1434 in combination with Merck's KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in patients with solid tumors expressing IGF-1R. Fusion and Hamilton, Ontario-based McMaster University are building a current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility designed to support manufacturing of the Company's growing pipeline of TATs.
About Niowave
Niowave manufactures radioisotopes to cure cancer and save lives. Niowave builds and operates superconducting electron linear accelerators and is using that expertise to produce various radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. Niowave is a Cooperative Agreement partner with the National Nuclear Security Administration to develop a domestic supply of molybdenum-99 and currently produces yttrium-90 for use in cancer therapy. Niowave is licensed by the NRC to manufacture radioisotopes from uranium and radium and has partnerships with several universities and national laboratories focused on production and purification of radioisotopes for use in cancer therapy. By using radium targets and electron beams, Niowave is able to produce ultra pure and carrier-free actinium-225. Niowave's R&D facility is currently supplying actinium-225 samples to partners. Production-scale operations are ramping up at a second, FDA-compliant facility capable of meeting the growing actinium-225 market.