Curium is reportedly nearing a $7-8 billion acquisition of Lantheus, which would combine two of the largest suppliers in the PSMA imaging and radiopharmaceutical space — the biggest story of the year for anyone tracking tracer and therapeutic sourcing. Meanwhile, two new Journal of Nuclear Medicine papers refine the operational side of Lu-PSMA therapy: one shows why the gap between baseline PSMA PET and the first treatment cycle matters, and another shows post-therapy imaging time can be cut in half without losing accuracy.

Bloomberg reported Curium is in advanced talks to acquire Lantheus for roughly $102 per share upfront plus $12.50 per share in contingent value rights — valuing the deal at $7 billion, or $8 billion including the CVR. Bloomberg noted a final decision has not been reached and there is no guarantee the deal comes together, though an announcement could come within days. The same week, Curium separately announced the immediate reintroduction of its Thallium-201 cardiac SPECT tracer to the U.S. market, restoring an alternative amid recurring technetium-99m shortages.

A JNM analysis of 87 patients found interim disease progression in 36.8% when the interval between baseline PSMA PET and the first 177Lu-PSMA-617 cycle exceeded 30 days. PSA response and overall survival were not affected, but the authors concluded baseline imaging may not represent true disease status after a long delay — a scheduling consideration for programs interpreting post-therapy response.

A JNM study of 20 patients found a 9-minute dual-energy 360-degree CZT total-body SPECT/CT protocol matched an 18-minute single-energy scan for tumor volume and SUVmean against PSMA PET, suggesting post-therapy Lu-PSMA monitoring time could be halved without losing accuracy.

A JNM study of 79 patients found combined 18F-flotufolastat PET and multiparametric MRI reached 87.1% AUC for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer, outperforming PI-RADS (75.2%), SUVmax alone (80.7%), and the PRIMARY score (86%) — supporting more selective use of biopsy.

Radiopharm Theranostics reported a business update alongside a concurrent US$4.1 million direct offering and up to A$12.7 million Australian placement, plus a confirmed durable partial response in its Phase 1 RAD204 trial for solid tumors post-immunotherapy — a sign capital continues to flow into the broader radiopharmaceutical sector.

Starget Pharma appointed Oliver Sartor and Michael Hofman to its Scientific Advisory Board, adding the clinicians behind Pluvicto, TheraP, and the PSMA imaging standards of care to its radioligand discovery platform.

Curium and Lantheus prevailed in a Delaware patent dispute with Novartis’s Advanced Accelerator Applications over Lu-177 dotatate products, with the court ruling the asserted patents invalid — clearing a path for Curium’s own GEP-NET radioligand therapy plans.

Blue Earth Diagnostics is sponsoring a new interventional trial studying whether fluciclovine (18F) PET changes prostate cancer management after a negative or equivocal PSMA PET.