In efforts to dominate radiopharmaceutical R&D, Full-Life Technologies is set to acquire New Jersey biotech Focus-X Therapeutics for a price tag that could max out at $245 million.
Founded in 2020, Focus-X is developing several preclinical targeted radiopharmaceuticals based on peptide engineering tech that takes aim at treating cancer. Now, Full-Life—a radiotherapeutics company with operations in China and Europe—will work to advance the biotech’s compounds into clinical development and add on Focus-X’s tech as its second peptide-focused discovery platform.
Under the terms of the acquisition, which is set to close in the first quarter of 2023, Focus-X shareholders will receive an upfront payment and be eligible to receive regulatory and sales-based milestones totaling a combined $245 million, along with royalties on any commercial sales.
Focus-X’s two lead compounds are a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PMSA)-targeted peptide designed to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and a neurotensin receptor type 1 (NTSR1)-targeted peptide aimed at treating pancreatic cancer. The biotech also has six other programs in early-stage development.
“Full-Life’s integrated platforms will provide the manufacturing technology, logistics and clinical development expertise to accelerate development of our compounds as well as expand our discovery efforts,” Fa Liu, Ph.D., Focus-X’s co-founder and CEO, said in a Nov. 29 news release. “This world-class radiopharmaceutical team has enormous potential to develop radiopharmaceutical therapeutics that impact patients worldwide.”
Eventually, Full-Life aims to “own the entire value chain for radiopharmaceutical research and development, production and commercialization in order to deliver clinical impact for patients,” according to the release.