Telix shares dive 7pc as 40 per cent gain in US prostate cancer sales disappoints investors

Sales of Telix prostate cancer imaging agent Illuccix have hit almost $150m in the US since its launch last April but investors were expecting a better result.

Telix Pharmaceuticals is led by Christian Behrenbruch and chairman Kevin McCann. Picture: Hollie Adams

ASX-listed biotech Telix Pharmaceuticals has reported a near 40 per cent sales uplift of its prostate cancer imaging agent, Illuccix, as it builds momentum in the US.

But the result fell short of investors’ expectations, with Telix shares sliding 7.2 per cent to $6.87 on Monday compared with a 0.6 per cent gain across the market.

The Melbourne-based company generated $76.8m in revenue for Illuccix in the three months to December 31 – a 39 per cent uplift on the previous quarter, based on unaudited accounts. This takes total sales of Illuccix since its launch in the US last April to $149.7m.

Telix chief executive Christian Behrenbruch said the company had adopted a “rapidly scalable distribution model”, with Illuccix available at 190 US pharmacies.

“We are very pleased with the continued sales momentum since launching Illuccix in the US. The continued strong sales growth reflects our differentiated business model and execution in the US market,” Dr Behrenbruch said.

“We look forward to updating institutional investors on the progress of our commercial activities and our broader pipeline, including our recent excellent results in renal cancer.”

Telix has generated almost $150m in sales of Illuccix since its launch in the US last April.

There are currently two types of Food and Drug Administration-approved prostate cancer imaging agents that use gallium: Illuccix and Novartis’ Locametz.

Last month, Wilsons analyst Shane Storey wrote in a note to investors that Novartis’ products would “develop a leading market share within hospitals in conjunction with Pluvicto” – the first FDA-approved targeted radioligand therapy.

It comes as Telix is preparing a clinical trial this year, combining Illuccix with California-based RefleXion Medical’s biology-guided radiotherapy platform.

The two companies signed a co-development and commercialisation agreement last June to expand the use of Illuccix and the BgRT platform, which is the first and only cancer treatment designed to integrate positron-emission tomography technology as part of radiotherapy delivery.

It uses PET tracers as biological guides to signal the location of the cancer, and guide the delivery of radiotherapy to tumours in real-time. The companies said this approach may “facilitate treatment of later stage cancers than is currently practical for hospitals or tolerable by patients”.

Dr Behrenbruch said if approved, it could potentially open a broad new market opportunity for Illuccix as a therapy guidance agent, considering more than 60,000 men undergo external-beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer every year in the US.

“Following a successful evaluation period, we are pleased to … move ahead with a clinical program with the objective of regulatory approval of Illuccix for BgRT,” Dr Behrenbruch said in June. “This partnership demonstrates the potential for Illuccix and other molecularly-targeted imaging agents in our pipeline to be used as a tool to both detect the presence of metastatic disease and guide treatment using innovative complementary technologies such as BgRT.”

Last October, Illuccix became the first PET imaging agent to receive approval from Health Canada. Quebec Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists president Norman Laurin said “tools such as Illuccix are valuable as we look for better ways to detect prostate cancer in men”.