A radioisotope producer that has Bayer in its client list has raised €93 million ($103 million) in a Series A raise to build its first commercial manufacturing facility.
Isotope manufacturer PanTera’s new build in Mol, Belgium, will “radically improve supply in the short and long term,” CEO Sven Van den Berghe said in a Wednesday release. The build is expected to be operational in 2028, and the producer expects 80% of the facility’s capacity will be booked even before production starts.
The global shortage of actinium-225 is an ongoing issue. Bristol Myers Squibb had to halt a Phase 3 trial earlier this year due to short supply, but has since restarted the trial. Other players like Novartis have also previously struggled to make their radiotherapies due to shortages of radioisotopes, which have very short shelf lives, making them difficult to make and supply.
At the new site, the Belgian company will make Ac-225 using its patented production method that involves the conversion of actinium that has different mass numbers. The company expects its new facility to produce over 100 curies, the measure of isotope mass, of Ac-225 every year by 2029.
Currently, the company is supplying Ac-225 by working with isotope manufacturer TerraPower Isotopes. The companies use a thorium-actinium generator in which thorium-229 decays into radium-225 and then actinium-225, according to PanTera’s website.
Earlier this year, PanTera signed an agreement with Bayer to supply the large pharma with Ac-225 in the second half of this year.
Beginning early 2025, PanTera says it anticipates being able to produce just under half the global supply of Ac-225. The company expects to be able to make 1.5 to two curies of Ac-225 annually starting early next year. Currently, three curies of Ac-225 are estimated to be made annually worldwide.
The Series A was led by investor firm EQT Life Sciences along with Kurma Partners, Eurazeo, Korys, Paladin and PMV.
Further, PanTera has an additional €41 million ($45 million) in equity and debt funding. One of the founding companies of PanTera, the particle accelerator tech company IBA, has converted €7.2 million ($8 million) into convertible loans and borrowed €33.75 million ($37 million) that has been secured with banking firms KBC and Belfius.
PanTera was founded as a joint venture between IBA and Belgium research institute SCK CEN in 2022.