Eli Lilly announced Tuesday its acquisition of Point Biopharma for $1.4 billion, marking the pharmaceutical giant's strategic entry into the radioligand therapy space as it seeks to expand its oncology portfolio with precision cancer treatments.
Under the agreement terms, Lilly will pay $12.50 per outstanding share of Point, representing a 67% premium to the Pennsylvania-based radiopharma company's 30-day volume-weighted average price. Both companies' boards have approved the transaction, with closing expected toward the end of 2023.
Strategic Entry into Radioligand Therapy
The Point acquisition represents the "beginning of our investment in developing multiple meaningful radioligand medicines for hard-to-treat cancers," said Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly's oncology unit Loxo@Lilly. Van Naarden emphasized the emerging potential of sophisticated radiopharmaceuticals, noting that "the industry is still in its preliminary phase of the impact they might ultimately supply."
Radioligand therapy offers a precision approach to cancer treatment by connecting a radioisotope to a directive molecule, delivering radiation straight to cancer cells while permitting notable anti-cancer efficacy and concurrently lessening the effect on healthy tissue.
Advanced Pipeline Assets
The acquisition provides Lilly immediate access to Point's lead asset PNT2002, a radioligand therapy targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). The candidate carries the beta-emitting radioisotope lutetium-177 and is currently in Phase III trials for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had progressed after hormonal treatment. Primary data from this study is anticipated in late 2023.
Point is also advancing PNT2003, another late-stage targeted radioligand therapy that targets the somatostatin receptor and carries a lutetium-177-based payload. This candidate is being developed for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).
Beyond its late-stage pipeline, Point maintains several earlier-stage assets, including PNT2004 for solid tumors and PNT2001 for prostate cancer. The acquisition also includes Point's radiopharma manufacturing campus in Indianapolis and its R&D center in Toronto.
Competitive Landscape
The Point purchase positions Lilly alongside established radioligand therapy players, particularly Novartis, whose radioligand therapy Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) recently succeeded in its Phase III NETTER-2 trial in GEP-NETs. When combined with high-dose long-acting octreotide, Lutathera significantly improved progression-free survival compared with octreotide alone.
Lutathera is already approved for GEP-NETs treatment, but Novartis now seeks to advance the targeted radiotherapy into the front-line setting based on recent trial data. Additionally, radiopharma company RayzeBio is developing RYZ101 for GEP-NETs, with the candidate carrying the highly potent Actinium-225 radioisotope and having begun Phase III assessments in May 2023.
Market Context and Strategic Positioning
According to Synapse Database data as of October 2023, there are 178 investigational drugs targeting PSMA, including 65 indications and 169 R&D institutions involved, with related clinical trials reaching 454 and as many as 18,819 patents in the space.
The Point acquisition continues Lilly's recent dealmaking activity, following the $1.93 billion purchase of weight-loss company Versanis in July 2023. The previous month, Lilly acquired three companies: antibody-drug conjugate developer Emergence Therapeutics, diabetes partner Sigilon, and autoimmune and inflammatory leader DICE.
Van Naarden expressed enthusiasm about combining the companies' capabilities, stating, "We eagerly anticipate the arrival of colleagues from POINT to Lilly and look forward to combining our successes to generate a pipeline of new, significant radioligand treatments for patients."
