Two biotech firms and a radiochemistry company will develop next-generation targeted alpha-therapies to treat various forms of cancer.

The PRE-CISE initiative brings together Sweden’s Akiram Therapeutics, Denmark’s PreTT and radiochemistry specialist TetraKit Technologies. Together they will take aim at highly metastatic, recurrent and advanced forms of the disease and work on new treatments combining optimal tumour eradication with minimal toxicity.

PreTT CEO Francesco Sergi-Lindell said: “Participating in this project presents a remarkable opportunity to further validate our pre-targeting approach, which leverages the targeting properties of antibodies for radioligand therapy"

The collaboration seeks to refine radioligand therapy by applying a two-step pre-targeting method. In this approach, an antibody is first administered to bind to tumour cells, followed by a separately delivered radioactive payload. This allows the use of alpha-emitting radionuclides – known for their high potency and short-range cell-killing effects – which are typically incompatible with traditional antibody-based therapies.

Central to the initiative is Akiram’s CD44v6-targeting antibody platform, which is already employed in the molecular radiotherapy Lu-AKIR001, its lead candidate.

Marika Nestor, CEO of Akiram Therapeutics, said: “By separating the targeting step from the therapeutic phase, we open up new possibilities for designing more precise and effective cancer treatments.”

The collaboration is co-funded with a €1m grant from the Eurostars programme, which is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs and co-funded by the European Union.