Ekalia and Telix strike deal to expand At-211 production in the US
Ekalia, the joint venture formed by cyclotron specialist IBA and nuclear industrial group Framatome, has signed a collaboration agreement with Telix Pharmaceuticals to accelerate the commissioning of its first Astatine-211 (At-211) production unit in the United States. The initial installation is planned for RLS Trevose in Pennsylvania, with the potential to expand across Telix's broader RLS Radiopharmacies network as demand grows.
Ekalia is still in formation but is already moving to establish production infrastructure ahead of anticipated demand for At-211, an alpha-emitting radioisotope regarded as one of the more clinically promising isotopes for targeted alpha therapy in oncology. The company's first site outside the US is planned for France.
The deal
Under the agreement, Ekalia will draw on Telix's US operational capabilities and existing radiopharmacy footprint to speed up the build-out of its production capacity. In return, Telix gains secured access to a portion of that capacity, feeding its own alpha therapy pipeline without depending on third-party spot supply.
Bruno Scutnaire, chief executive of Ekalia, said that making At-211 more widely available "requires not only technological expertise, but also the ability to build reliable production capacity where it is needed." Chad Watkins, General Manager for Isotope Strategy at Telix, framed the rationale in commercial terms: "Owning the path from isotope to patient is central to our development and commercialisation strategy. This collaboration gives Telix a dedicated, long-term source of astatine-211 to advance our alpha therapy pipeline."
Market context
Supply constraints have been one of the principal barriers to clinical and commercial progress in At-211-based therapy. The isotope has a half-life of roughly seven hours, which demands that production sites sit close to treatment centres, making distributed manufacturing essential rather than optional. Peer-reviewed literature cited by Ekalia in its release has highlighted insufficient production capacity as the limiting factor for broader adoption.
The radiopharmaceuticals sector has attracted significant attention and capital over the past two years, driven by the clinical and commercial success of lutetium-177-based agents and growing interest in alpha emitters as a next modality. Several large pharmaceutical groups have made acquisitions or licensing moves in the space, and specialist companies including Fusion Pharmaceuticals, RadioMedix and NovaBay are pursuing alpha-emitting programmes. The entry of a dedicated industrial-scale At-211 supplier with backing from both a cyclotron manufacturer and a nuclear-grade engineering group signals that the infrastructure layer of the market is beginning to mature.
For Telix, the agreement reinforces the strategic rationale behind its RLS Radiopharmacies platform, which the company has positioned as a distribution and manufacturing asset rather than a purely commercial operation. Securing a long-term isotope supply arrangement at an early stage could represent a meaningful competitive advantage if At-211-labelled therapies reach late-stage trials and require reliable, scalable access to the parent isotope.
The near-term milestone to watch is the commissioning timeline for the Trevose unit. Neither party disclosed a target date or the capital commitment involved, and Ekalia remains formally in formation, meaning regulatory approvals and final corporate structuring are still pending.