Telix and Kanazawa University Commence Japanese Clinical Study for Prostate Cancer Imaging

Melbourne (Australia) – 14^th December 2020. Telix announces its subsidiary, Telix Pharmaceuticals Japan KK, has entered a clinical study collaboration with Kanazawa University (Japan) for the conduct of a Phase I trial of its prostate cancer imaging product.

Telix is pleased to announce its subsidiary, Telix Pharmaceuticals Japan KK has entered a clinical study collaboration with Kanazawa University (Japan) for the conduct of a Phase I trial of  TLX591-CDx (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11), a radiopharmaceutical for the imaging of prostate cancer using Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

The Phase I trial, which will enroll 10 patients with advanced prostate cancer, will be the first clinical trial involving the use of gallium-based PSMA imaging in Japan. Telix has developed TLX591-CDx as a next-generation PET imaging agent that targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells. PSMA imaging has emerged as a new standard of care in prostate cancer imaging globally and is already included in clinical practice guidelines in the United States and Europe.

Dr. Shintaro Nishimura, President of Telix Japan, stated “It is a great pleasure to work with Kanazawa University, which is the oldest Department of Nuclear Medicine in Japan. Through this collaboration, we take a first critical step toward providing PSMA imaging to Japanese men with prostate cancer. The annual incidence of prostate cancer in Japan is 70,000 patients with this figure expected to rise over coming years. As such, there is an urgent need to deliver this break-through imaging modality to Japanese patients without delay. We wish to thank Kanazawa University’s Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Urology, the Innovative Clinical Research Center (iCREK), and the Kanazawa Advanced Medical Center (KadMedic) for their support in bringing this important clinical study to realisation.”

Prof. Seigo Kinuya, Professor of Nuclear Medicine at the Kanazawa University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chair of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine, and Chair of the National Conference for Nuclear Medicine Theranostics, added, “The Third-Term Comprehensive 10-year Strategy for Cancer Control, a nationwide initiative advocating the promotion of radiation therapy, has been in place since 2004. In order to deliver on this initiative, concrete development of new diagnostic and therapeutic agents in Japan is essential. Our collaboration with Telix Japan and this first clinical trial of ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 prostate imaging in Japan are important milestones in the progress of Japanese nuclear medicine. We look forward to providing new diagnostics to patients in Japan as early as possible in collaboration with Telix.”

To read the full media release please click here.