Diana’s Opening Note

This week brings the biggest reported supplier consolidation story the PSMA field has seen — Curium reportedly nearing a $7-8 billion acquisition of Lantheus — alongside new peer-reviewed evidence that tightens the operational margins of Lu-PSMA therapy. Together, they are a reminder that both the business and the clinical sides of this field are moving fast, and neither can be tracked in isolation.

Editor’s Spotlight

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.

Story of the Week

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.

Clinical News

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.

Business & Industry Intelligence

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.

Practice Insights

Protect the PSMA-PET-to-therapy window. Build scheduling pathways that get patients from baseline PSMA PET to the first Lu-PSMA-617 cycle within 30 days where possible, and flag longer intervals for clinical review rather than assuming baseline imaging still reflects current disease status. This week’s JNM data show that delay, not imaging quality, is the more likely source of interim progression.

Clinical Trials to Watch

PSMAddition — Novartis still expects an FDA decision on the mHSPC indication for Pluvicto in the second half of 2026, backed by a 58% lower risk of PSA progression.

ProstACT Global — Telix’s Phase 3 Part 2 continues advancing in the U.S. under FDA alignment, building on the peer-reviewed ProstACT SELECT data.

Flotufolastat PET/mpMRI combination — combined imaging reached 87.1% AUC for clinically significant prostate cancer, ahead of PI-RADS and PET alone.

PSMA PET timing standards — new interim-progression data may inform future protocol requirements for the PSMA-PET-to-therapy interval before 177Lu-PSMA-617.

Industry Movers / News in Brief

Curium expanded U.S. manufacturing with its Thallium-201 relaunch, its second capacity move this week alongside the reported Lantheus talks.

Telix will report H1 2026 results on August 20 and said it is evaluating a U.S. “Most-Favored Nation” drug-pricing executive order.

ASTRO 2026 is scheduled for September 26-30 in Boston; EANM’26 for October 17-21 in Vienna; ESMO 2026 for October 23-27 in Madrid; and the SNMMI Theranostics Conference for November 4-8 in Bethesda.

Diana’s Take

A near-$8 billion Curium-Lantheus deal would be the biggest reshuffling of the PSMA supply base in the field’s history, and it lands the same week new evidence tightens the operational margins around Lu-PSMA therapy — imaging timing, monitoring speed, and biopsy selection. Programs should watch supplier stability as closely as they watch the clinical literature right now.

About the Author

Diana J. Errico is Director, Strategic Service Lines at Molecular Imaging Services. She focuses on helping healthcare organizations evaluate, implement, and grow advanced molecular imaging, PET/CT, PSMA PET, and theranostics programs through strategic planning, clinical workflow development, and operational support.

Outreach

If we missed your news or data requires correction, the author can be reached at info@mismedical.com.

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