Lantheus is expanding its holdings of PET imaging agents for Alzheimer’s disease, with the acquisition of Meilleur Technologies.
The deal grants Lantheus exclusive worldwide rights to Meilleur’s radiopharmaceutical diagnostic that highlights beta amyloid plaques in the brain. The injectable agent—known as NAV-4694, or F18-flutafuranol—is currently in phase 3 development.
The acquisition comes just days after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a separate payment pathway for certain diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals and nuclear medicine imaging agents—instead of bundling them as part of the procedure, as it had in the past.
The change was put forward in CMS’ proposal for payment systems among hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers, set for the 2025 calendar year. Lantheus’ stock price jumped nearly 60% on the news.
The deal also follows the FDA’s approval earlier this month of Eli Lilly’s Kisunla (donanemab-abzt) treatment for Alzheimer’s, seen as a challenger to Biogen and Eisai’s Leqembi in a newly burgeoning area of anti-amyloid therapies.
“This acquisition solidifies our commitment to neurology, specifically for Alzheimer’s disease management, and reinforces our radiopharmaceutical leadership,” Lantheus CEO Brian Markison said in a statement, which pitched Meilleur’s NAV-4694 as a complement to the company’s PET agent MK-6240, aimed at Alzheimer’s tau tangles.
The companies estimate that nearly 12 million people are living with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. today, a number that may pass 20 million by 2050.
“With the combination of MK-6240 and NAV-4694, we are poised to provide important insights for guiding the use and assessing the impact of novel disease-modifying Alzheimer’s treatments,” Markison said. Lantheus previously acquired MK-6240, an F18-labeled agent also known as florquinitau, in February 2023 through its buyout of Cerveau Technologies.
While the exact financial terms of Lantheus’ deal with Meilleur were not disclosed, the companies said the stock purchase agreement includes an upfront payment as well as additional R&D and commercial milestones, plus royalties. Meilleur will also provide transitional clinical development services for a set time.
“We are excited by the potential of NAV-4694 for earlier identification of Alzheimer’s patients, empowering clinicians to select suitable candidates for timely therapeutic interventions,” said Meilleur CEO Rick Hiatt. “With Lantheus’ expertise in radiopharmaceutical diagnostics and ability to scale operations, I am confident that Lantheus is the ideal company to bring this late-stage biomarker through pivotal trials and into commercialization to one day benefit patients at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”