Siemens Healthineers aims to grow its PET imaging business by picking up the radiodiagnostic manufacturing and distribution network of Novartis’ Advanced Accelerator Applications division.
First reported by the Financial Times, the transaction will weigh in above 200 million euros, or about $223 million, and will include the production base behind radioactive tracers used in scans for cancer, heart conditions and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.
The deal will allow Siemens Healthineers to expand the reach of its U.S.-centered PET diagnostic operations further across Europe—where AAA manages the continent’s second-largest network of cyclotrons employed in the production of radioactive medical isotopes.
With a short half-life by design, the imaging agents need to be manufactured as close to their patients as possible and are used to determine who may be eligible for future treatments with stronger, punchier radiotherapies.
In a statement to Fierce Medtech, Siemens Healthineers described the radiopharmaceutical market as one that’s “at an inflection point” and being pushed by innovations across the industry among new therapies and theranostic applications.
“The number of patients suffering from cancer and neurodegeneration is rising rapidly as life expectancies increase,” said Jim Williams, Siemens Healthineers’ head of molecular imaging. “We’re excited to expand our capabilities with the added benefit of Advanced Accelerator Applications’ first-class operations, extensive experience in nuclear medicine, and proven track record.”
Today, Siemens Healthineers’ U.S.-based PETNET Solutions arm maintains 47 cyclotron-powered facilities, with locations in the U.K. and Paris, and also operates as a contract radiopharma manufacturer.
According to the company, the deal with AAA will add 14 more manufacturing sites for the radioactive isotope fluorine-18 dotted across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany and Switzerland.
The transaction is slated to close by the end of this year, after which Siemens Healthineers will continue as a partner for Novartis’ radioligand therapy business.
The Swiss drugmaker first acquired AAA for $3.9 billion in late 2017, with its eyes on the anti-cancer radiopharmaceutical Lutathera. Novartis later nabbed Pluvicto through a $2.1 billion deal for Endocyte and followed up with an FDA approval for its use against prostate tumors; both drugs rely on the isotope lutetium-177 and are combined with specific, targeted ligands to destroy cancer cells.
In a statement, Novartis said the transfer “follows a strategic assessment that concluded the growth of the molecular imaging business would be best supported under the ownership of a dedicated diagnostics shareholder” and would allow the company to focus its efforts on a pure-play radiopharmaceutical enterprise.