M&A

Nuclear medicine company Curium Pharma has acquired Monrol (Eczacıbaşı-Monrol Nuclear Products) to expand its presence in the sector.

Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Monrol provides radioisotopes and radiopharmaceutical products, acting as both a contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) and contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO).

The deal will enrich Curium’s research and development of theranostic products, specifically the manufacturing of Lutetium-177 (Lu-177), and strengthen the security of its future launch plans for its Lu177 drug candidates. These include a candidate for prostate cancer that is currently under development and one for neuroendocrine tumours that is awaiting approval.

Chaitanya Tatineni, Curium’s chief executive officer of international markets, said: “The coming together of Curium and Monrol will transform our scale, capabilities and reach across several critical areas, in particular Lu-177, and create multiple new opportunities to enhance our offering of life-changing diagnostic and therapeutic solutions to patients around the world.”

The Paris-headquartered CDMO Curium already has facilities across Europe and the US from which it develops, manufactures and distributes radiopharmaceutical products to help patients with life-threatening diseases.

In addition to therapeutic radiopharma solutions, the firm offers single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) – both of which it expects to benefit from the deal in terms of their geographical and supply chain coverage.

Additionally, Curium will add Monrol’s manufacturing and logistics infrastructure to its own production and distribution capabilities and plans to deploy Monrol’s Ga-68 generator, which is pending regulatory approvals.