POINT Biopharma and Kinectrics Announce Yb-176 Supply Agreement Enabling North American Production of n.c.a. Lu-177
POINT to host inaugural educational event highlighting radiopharmaceuticals, their therapeutic benefit, and commercial considerations on Dec 6, 2021 – register online at https://hub.pointbiopharma.com/dec2021
INDIANAPOLIS and TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — POINT Biopharma Global Inc. (NASDAQ: PNT), a company accelerating the discovery, development, and global access to life changing radiopharmaceuticals, and Kinectrics Inc., a leading service provider to the nuclear power and electricity industry, announced today a long-term supply agreement for Ytterbium-176 (Yb-176) to support POINT’s in-house no-carrier added Lutetium-177 (n.c.a. Lu-177) production program.
Radiopharmaceuticals that use modern medical isotopes like Lu-177 are much easier for patients to access, as they can be administered outside of hospitals without an overnight stay. The administrative burden on clinics can also be reduced by using n.c.a. Lu-177, that does not contain long-lived radioactive impurities present in other versions of Lu-177, which may require clinics to keep patients on-site longer and implement additional costly radiation safety measures. For these reasons, whenever POINT uses Lu-177 in a program, only n.c.a. Lu-177 is utilized.
The input material for creating n.c.a. Lu-177 is Ytterbium-176 (Yb-176): a stable isotope precursor that is irradiated in nuclear reactors, producing Lu-177 through neutron activation. Currently, the production of all n.c.a. Lu-177 depends on a complex and very limited global supply chain. With this agreement with Kinectrics, POINT is laying the groundwork to access large quantities of highly enriched Yb-176, creating the world’s first, stable North American supply of n.c.a. Lu-177, thereby establishing POINT as a dependable provider of high-quality radiopharmaceuticals.
“Ensuring a secure, redundant and consistent isotope supply is a cornerstone of POINT’s radiopharmaceutical platform,” said Dr. Joe McCann, CEO of POINT Biopharma. “Our integrated Lu-177 isotope supply chain is a rarity in the industry allowing us to advance our pipeline and positions us as a future leader in the commercial supply of these treatments. Kinectrics’ deep experience in nuclear physics and engineering makes them an ideal partner to supply stable isotope precursor for our manufacturing processes.”
“Creating a North American supply of Yb-176 is critical to safeguard the supply-chain for Lu-177,” said David Harris, CEO of Kinectrics. “Following the creation of Isogen, our joint venture with Framatome that is focused on commercial isotope production at Bruce Power, we saw it fitting to expand our investments to include stable isotope enrichment. Kinectrics is uniquely positioned to apply our international capabilities in engineering, physics, and chemistry to develop state-of-the-art stable isotope enrichment technologies. This new investment will create a long-term, scalable solution, and we are excited to support POINT’s rapid growth and strong pipeline of Lu-177 therapies, and to bring together the innovations of two great companies.”
“This agreement is a positive development for health care globally as patients across the country and around the world rely on the continuous availability of medical isotopes,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s Chief Development Officer and Executive Vice President of Operational Services. “It comes at a time when we work to solidify Canada’s position as a global isotope powerhouse through virtual trade missions to Europe and the United States which will allow us to leverage Canada’s existing nuclear infrastructure and supply chain to explore opportunities for multi-lateral collaboration with a goal of ensuring a reliable and stable supply of life-saving medical isotopes.”
To learn more about n.c.a. Lutetium-177 as well as other medical isotopes, attend POINT’s inaugural educational day on Dec 6, 2021 – register online at https://hub.pointbiopharma.com/dec2021.
About Kinectrics
Kinectrics is an integrated life cycle management services company providing testing, inspection, certification and engineering consulting to the electric power generation, transmission and distribution markets worldwide. Kinectrics helps keep the electricity industry’s new construction projects and existing operations running smoothly through its independent laboratories, a diverse fleet of field inspection equipment and an award-winning team of over 1,000 engineers and technical experts. From concept to completion Kinectrics partners with customers to ensure that utility assets perform safely, reliably and efficiently throughout their life cycle. www.kinectrics.com
About POINT Biopharma
POINT Biopharma Global Inc. is a globally focused radiopharmaceutical company building a platform for the clinical development and commercialization of radioligands that fight cancer. POINT Biopharma Global Inc. is combining a portfolio of best-in-class radiopharmaceutical assets, a seasoned management team, expertise in radioisotopes such as Actinium-225 (Ac-225) and Lutetium-177 (Lu-177), and industry-leading manufacturing capabilities and supply chain to revolutionize theragnostic drug development and radioligand commercialization. Learn more about POINT Biopharma Global Inc. at https://www.pointbiopharma.com. Information about POINT Biopharma Global Inc.’s Phase 3 SPLASH trial for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients can be found at https://www.splashtrial.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the benefits of the recently completed business combination, as well as statements about the potential attributes and benefits of New POINT’s product candidates and the format and timing of New POINT’s product development activities and clinical trials. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results, including, among others, the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against New POINT following the closing of the business combination, the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations, the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of New POINT to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees, the impact of COVID-19 on New POINT’s business, the ability to maintain the listing of New POINT’s common stock on the NASDAQ, changes in applicable laws or regulations, the possibility that New POINT may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in RACA’s definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on June 9, 2021. Most of these factors are outside of New POINT’s control and are difficult to predict. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Company Contact:
Ari Shomair
media@pointbiopharma.com
(647) 812-2417
Investor Relations Contact:
Alex Lobo
Stern Investor Relations
investors@pointbiopharma.com
