Lantheus and RefleXion Announce Development and Commercialization Collaboration with the Potential to Improve Future Prostate Cancer Treatment
“Combining BgRT with piflufolastat F 18 to detect metastasis in prostate cancer is a promising advancement that may improve patient outcomes,” said
The RefleXion X1 is the first platform that integrates PET technology into a therapeutic radiation delivery device to enable radiation to be guided in real-time to tumor sites localized by the PET tracer. This approach has the potential to use the tumor’s biology, as characterized by the PET tracer, to guide radiation delivery to multiple cancer sites within a patient in a single session. The RefleXion X1 technology has potential advantages over conventional radiotherapy, as it may, when fully realized, enable treatment of more tumors per session, increase accuracy of radiation delivery to tumor sites and reduce toxicity to healthy tissue, and facilitate treatment of more widespread disease than is practical or tolerable with conventional radiotherapy.2 PET PSMA, as a highly sensitive and specific approach to localizing prostate cancer in tumor, lymph nodes, and distant metastatic sites, offers unique potential to bring the promise of RefleXion’s novel technology to prostate cancer therapy.
“By combining the sensitivity and specificity of piflufolastat F 18 with the potential of our BgRT for treating local, regional and metastatic prostate cancer, we expect to have the future ability to address prostate cancer patients in a very specific, highly precise manner,” said
The Development and Commercial Collaboration Agreement, which will be managed by a
“Lantheus is committed to advancing and expanding our PSMA platform with innovative solutions to find, fight and follow cancer,” said
About Piflufolastat F 18 Injection
Piflufolastat F 18 injection (also known as 18F-DCFPyL or PyL) is a fluorinated small molecule PSMA-targeted PET imaging agent that enables visualization of lymph nodes, bone and soft tissue metastases to determine the presence or absence of recurrent and/or metastatic prostate cancer. For men with prostate cancer, piflufolastat F 18 PET combines the accuracy of PET imaging, the precision of PSMA targeting and the clarity of an F 18 radioisotope6 for superior diagnostic performance. The recommended piflufolastat F 18 dose is 333 MBq (9 mCi) with an acceptable range of 296 MBq to 370 MBq (8 mCi to 10 mCi), administered as a bolus intravenous injection.3-8
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer affecting men in the United States -- an estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2021, almost 250,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and more than 30,000 men will die of the disease. Approximately 3.1 million men in the United States currently count themselves as prostate cancer survivors.9
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection
Indication
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer:
- with suspected metastasis who are candidates for initial definitive therapy.
- with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.
Important Safety Information
Contraindications
None.
Warnings and Precautions
Risk of Image Misinterpretation
Imaging interpretation errors can occur with PYLARIFY imaging. A negative image does not rule out the presence of prostate cancer and a positive image does not confirm the presence of prostate cancer. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of patients with biochemical evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer seems to be affected by serum PSA levels. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of metastatic pelvic lymph nodes prior to initial definitive therapy seems to be affected by risk factors such as Gleason score and tumor stage. PYLARIFY uptake is not specific for prostate cancer and may occur with other types of cancer as well as non-malignant processes and in normal tissues. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation of the suspected prostate cancer site, is recommended.
Hypersensitivity Reactions
Monitor patients for hypersensitivity reactions, particularly patients with a history of allergy to other drugs and foods. Reactions may be delayed. Always have trained staff and resuscitation equipment available.
Radiation Risks
Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, including PYLARIFY, expose patients to radiation. Radiation exposure is associated with a dose-dependent increased risk of cancer. Ensure safe handling and preparation procedures to protect patients and health care workers from unintentional radiation exposure. Advise patients to hydrate before and after administration and to void frequently after administration.
Adverse Reactions
The most frequently reported adverse reactions were headaches, dysgeusia and fatigue, occurring at rate of ≤2% during clinical studies with PYLARIFY. In addition, a delayed hypersensitivity reaction was reported in one patient (0.2%) with a history of allergic reactions.
Drug interactions
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and other therapies targeting the androgen pathway, such as androgen receptor antagonists, may result in changes in uptake of PYLARIFY in prostate cancer. The effect of these therapies on performance of PYLARIFY PET has not been established.
To report suspected adverse reactions for PYLARIFY, call 1-800-362-2668 or contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.
For important risk and use information about PYLARIFY Injection, please see Full Prescribing information.
About
About
RefleXion is a privately held commercial stage company developing the first biology-guided radiotherapy (BgRT) system, a significant change in strategy from single tumor therapy to the ability to one day treat multiple tumors in the same treatment session in cancers that have metastasized. BgRT incorporates positron-emission tomography imaging data to enable tumors to continuously signal their location. The BgRT technology will synchronize these data with the linear accelerator to direct radiotherapy to tumors with sub-second latency.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by their use of terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “potential,” “will” and other similar terms. Such forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates and expectations will be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. Neither
Lantheus Contacts:
Senior Director, Investor Relations
978-671-8842
ir@lantheus.com
Director, Corporate Communications
646-975-2533
media@lantheus.com
RefleXion Contact:
Amy Cook
acook@reflexion.com
925-200-2125
1The RefleXion™ X1 is cleared for SBRT/SRS/IMRT. BgRT is limited by
2 Shirvani SM, Huntzinger CJ, Melcher T, Olcott PD, Voronenko Y,
3Mena et al. 18 F-DCFPyL PET/CT Imaging in Patients with Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer After Primary Local Therapy J Nucl Med 2020 Jun;61(6):881-889. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.119.234799. Epub 2019 Nov 1.
4Alipour et al. Guiding management of therapy in prostate cancer: time to switch from conventional imaging to PSMA PET? Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2019; 11: 1758835919876828.
5Werner et al 18F-Labeled, PSMA-Targeted Radiotracers: Leveraging the Advantages of Radiofluorination for Prostate Cancer Molecular Imaging Theranostics 2020; 10(1):1-16. doi:10.7150/thno.37894.
6Petersen LJ, Zacho HD. PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review. Cancer Imaging. 2020;20(1):1-8. doi:10.1186/s40644-020-0290-
7Tan N, Oyoyo U, Bavadian N, et al. PSMA-targeted radiotracers versus 18F fluciclovine for the detection of prostate cancer biochemical recurrence after definitive therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Radiology. 2020;296:44-55. doi:10.1148/radiol.2020191689
8PYLARIFY® [package insert]. North Billerica, MA: Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Lantheus company
9
Source: Lantheus Holdings, Inc.
Source: RefleXion Medical, Inc.