Global major drugmakers are investing one after another in radiopharmaceuticals, a field seen as a next-generation cancer therapy.
After Swiss drugmaker Novartis succeeded in commercializing radiopharmaceuticals and opened the market, France's Sanofi and the United States' Eli Lilly and Company are also expanding investments to secure related technology.
Australian radiopharmaceutical developer AdvanCell said on the 15th that it raised $315 million (about 466 billion won) in a series D round.
The company raised large-scale funding through series B in 2022 (18 million Australian dollars) and series C in 2025 ($112 million), followed by this series D, securing cumulative funding of about $440 million (650 billion won).
Existing investors Sanofi Ventures and Lilly Ventures participated in this series D, following on with additional funding. New investors included Ally Bridge Group, Alpha Wave, Bain Capital Life Sciences, and Fidelity Management & Research.
AdvanCell said it plans to use the funds to conduct a global phase 3 clinical trial of its lead candidate, the metastatic prostate cancer drug "ADVC001," and to expand manufacturing facilities.
Radiopharmaceuticals are therapies that selectively attack cancer cells by attaching radioactive isotopes to antibodies or small-molecule compounds (ligands) that target cancer cells. Because they can reduce damage to normal tissue while enhancing efficacy, they are drawing attention as a next-generation growth area for the global pharmaceutical industry.
AdvanCell is developing an alpha (α) emission approach that is a step beyond existing therapies.
Novartis' Pluvicto, currently used as a standard therapy, uses beta (β) emissions to damage a single strand of cancer cell DNA. In comparison, AdvanCell's candidate is being developed on the principle of cutting both strands of DNA simultaneously with α emissions to eliminate cancer cells more effectively.
The company said it applied a technology that uses lead-212. With a half-life of about 10.6 hours, lead-212 is relatively short-lived and does not remain in the body for long after treatment, which can reduce radiation exposure to normal tissue.
AdvanCell will also invest the new funds to expand U.S. manufacturing facilities. Radioactive isotopes are difficult to manufacture and can be shipped only within limited time windows, so securing production capacity is a key competitive edge for corporations. The company said it can stably mass-produce lead-212 through its in-house automated manufacturing equipment.
With investments and acquisitions continuing, some say radiopharmaceuticals are emerging as the next-generation cancer therapy field following Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC).
Novartis fired the opening shot for the expansion of the radiopharmaceuticals market.
In 2018, Novartis acquired U.S. biotech Endocyte for about $2.1 billion, securing the radiopharmaceutical candidate for prostate cancer treatment (PSMA-617). After clinical development, the therapy won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2022 as Pluvicto.
Pluvicto posted $1.994 billion (about 2.95 trillion won) in sales last year, establishing itself as a key growth driver for Novartis. First-quarter sales this year rose 70% from a year earlier to $642 million (about 950 billion won).
Other big pharmas then joined the fray in radiopharmaceuticals through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired RayzeBio for about $4.1 billion, and AstraZeneca bought Fusion Pharmaceuticals for about $2.4 billion.
Meanwhile, AdvanCell is a clinical-stage radiopharmaceuticals corporations founded in 2019 in Sydney, Australia. It was launched by venture investor Andrew Adamovich, and is currently led by CEO Dr. Philina Lee.