Telix Pharmaceuticals tallied its third acquisition of the year with a deal worth up to $250 million for Florida-based RLS Radiopharmacies, expanding the Australia-based company’s footprint in the radiopharmaceuticals space.
The deal, which remains contingent on regulatory, shareholder and certain third-party approvals, is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, RLS said in a Sept. 23 press release.
With the acquisition, Telix gets access to RLS’s network of 31 radiopharmacies spread out over 18 U.S. states. Last fall, RLS expanded several of its U.S. sites to add contract development and manufacturing capabilities.
Under terms of the sale, RLS will receive an upfront cash payment of $230 million and an additional $20 million upon reaching certain milestones during the four quarters following the closing.
The acquisition of RLS marks the third purchase by Telix since the start of the year. In February, Telix announced it would shell out $13.6 million in a cash and stock deal to snap up Texas-based CDMO Iso Therapeutics. In the past 2 years, Telix said it has spent about $1 billion on acquisitions, with most of the money going for U.S. companies.
That sale was followed up in March with an $82 million cash and stock offer for ARTMS, a British Columbia-based company with a cyclotron-based isotope production platform. Along with that deal, Telix picked up a manufacturing plant and a stockpile of ultrapure rare metals. ARTMS was formed in 2013 as a spinout from Canada’s national particle accelerator center.
“Our vision is to build a radiometal production and distribution network fit for the future,” Dr. Christian Behrenbruch, Telix managing director and group chief executive officer, said in Monday's release. “By combining the ARTMS platform and the RLS network, we can scale up the production of key isotopes and build a stable and consistent supply of PET and SPECT diagnostic tracers, along with therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals across the U.S. for the benefit of Telix, our partners and the patients we serve.”
Telix had been considering a move to go public in June, however, the company dropped its plan for a $200 million IPO debut on the Nasdaq later that month. The company has been listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 2017.
The biopharma industry has been in a fever rush to get into the radiopharmaceuticals space. In October 2023, Eli Lilly shelled out $1.4 billion to snap up Point Biopharma. Later in the year, BMS picked up RayzeBio for more than $4 billion.
But radiopharmaceuticals are tricky to produce. The radioactive components of the drugs have a very short shelf-life and must be produced in a customized fashion, thereby requiring regional manufacturing and same-day delivery services.