First Patient in Australia Dosed with Illuccix® – Telix’s Approved Prostate Cancer Imaging Agent 

Melbourne – 28 September 2022. First Patient in Australia Dosed with Illuccix® – Telix’s Approved Prostate Cancer Imaging Agent 

Telix today announces the first commercial dose in Australia of its prostate cancer imaging agent, Illuccix® (Kit for Preparation of Ga-68 Glu-urea-Lys(ahx)-hbed-CC Injection), also known as 68Ga-PSMA-11 injection.

With Illuccix now available for delivery to all positron emission tomography (PET) imaging sites in Australia, Austin Health in Melbourne became the first to administer this new PSMA PET[1] imaging agent that can help health care professionals diagnose the stage and spread of disease – an important step for the optimal care of men with prostate cancer.

Illuccix, after radiolabelling with Ga-68, is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for use with PET imaging combined with computed tomography (CT) in patients with prostate cancer:

  • who are at risk of metastasis and who are suitable for initial definitive therapy.
  • who have suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level.

Illuccix is the only PSMA-targeting PET agent approved and available in Australia for the diagnostic imaging of men with prostate cancer. Australia has one of the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world, and with diagnoses having increased 34% during the past 12 months, it is now the most common cancer in Australia, overtaking breast cancer. An estimated 24,217 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.[2]

The Australian launch of Telix’s lead imaging product follows the recent listing of PSMA PET imaging for patients with prostate cancer on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS). MBS funding covers the initial staging of intermediate to high-risk patients with prostate cancer and the re-staging of patients with recurrent prostate cancer, commensurate with the broad clinical indications granted in Australia for Illuccix.

Professor Andrew Scott AM, Director of the Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy at Austin Health, Melbourne stated, “It is a privilege to be the first location in Australia to offer this approved imaging agent to patients. PSMA PET imaging for prostate cancer is now considered a standard of care worldwide and Illuccix has potential to dramatically improve access and availability for patients across Australia to this practice changing scan. Illuccix will provide information to more accurately stage disease, leading to improved patient management and outcomes and has been recently approved for Medicare funding.”

Anne Savage, CEO Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia continued, “Widespread availability of Illuccix for PSMA PET/CT imaging will help to facilitate equitable and affordable access to life-saving care for many thousands of Australian men with prostate cancer. Together with the recent Medicare listing, the arrival of Illuccix will help address significant unmet medical need, and bring hope to thousands of men and their families affected by this disease.”

Dr. David N. Cade, CEO Telix Asia Pacific added, “This first commercial dose in Australia marks an important milestone for Australian men and for Telix as an Australian-headquartered company. As Illuccix rolls out nationally via our distribution partner, Global Medical Solutions Australia, we are pleased to deliver broad equity of access to PSMA PET imaging for prostate cancer, with the convenience and flexibility that this product affords.”

Illuccix is available to order via Telix’s distribution partner in Australia, Global Medical Solutions Australia, at the following link: https://www.globalmedicalsolutions.com.au/pages/telix-gms-distribution-agreement

[1] Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET).

[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data 2022.

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