Frank Vinluan
Sanofi is deepening its commitment to targeted radiation therapies for cancer with a €300 million equity investment in a new entity pursuing next-generation radioligand therapies.
The new entity will operate under the brand of Orano Med, a subsidiary of Orano Group. Sanofi already has a relationship with Orano Med. Last month, the Paris-based pharmaceutical giant licensed rights to Alphamedix, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical that partners Orano Med and RadioMedix developed for neuroendocrine tumors.
The €300 million (about $324.8 million) investment announced Thursday represents an equity stake of about 16% in the new entity, which is valued at €1.9 billion (about $2 billion). Sanofi said the entity will focus on the discovery, design and clinical development of next-generation radioligand therapies. Such therapies are comprised of a radioisotope attached to a targeting molecule that delivers the treatment to a specific cancer target. The goal of such therapies is to target the damaging radiation on cancer cells, limiting the impact to healthy cells. Sanofi said the therapies developed by the new Orano Med entity will employ various targeting agents to deliver lead-212, or 212Pb.
Orano Group, which is based in Paris and maintains U.S. headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, provides products and services to the nuclear industry. This work generated €4.8 billion (about $5.2 billion) in revenue in 2023, according to the company’s annual report. The bulk of the revenue was from back end operations that include recycling used fuel, making storage containers for nuclear materials and transporting these materials, and dismantling nuclear equipment and facilities, the report shows.
Orano Med is the nuclear medicine-focused subsidiary of the company focused on developing therapies based on 212Pb, a rare alpha-emitting radioactive isotope. The company says it has developed a unique process to extract and purify 212Pb from the recycling of drums used in mining activities. In addition to building plants in the U.S. and Europe that produce 212Pb for the clinical development and potential commercialization of targeted radiation therapies, Orano Med develops nuclear medicines under partnerships. R&D partners include Roche, Molecular Partners, and Crescendo Biologics.
AlphaMedix, the therapy that is Orano Med’s most advanced program, was developed under a partnership with Houston-based RadioMedix. This therapy seeks out somatostatin receptors, a target highly expressed on neuroendocrine tumors. Chemotherapy is the standard treatment for this group of rare cancers primarily affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Under the partnership with RadioMedix, AlphaMedix has reached Phase 2 testing, but the results so far are being discussed with the FDA for a potential regulatory submission.
In September, Sanofi announced a €100 million (about $110 million) deal to license AlphaMedix. The pharma giant could pay out up to €220 million (about $242 million) more if this radiopharmaceutical achieves milestones.
Specific targets of interest for the new Orano Med entity were not disclosed. But Sanofi said efforts will focus on difficult-to-treat cancers, both hematological malignancies and solid tumors that have critical unmet medical need, including rare cancers such as multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia, and certain types of lymphomas. The scope of the research will also include gastrointestinal and lung cancers.
“We see opportunity in the innovative lead-212-based technologies being developed by Orano Med, which align with our commitment to advancing transformative therapies for unmet medical needs,” Houman Ashrafian, executive vice president, head of research and development, Sanofi, said in a prepared statement.
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