Cellectar Biosciences Inc. a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer, has signed a strategic supply agreement with NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC, for the procurement of NorthStar’s non-carrier added (n.c.a.) Ac-225.
 
Cellectar’s CLR 121225 development program combines its proprietary Phospholipid Ether (PLE) delivery platform and actinium 225 for the treatment of solid tumors, however existing supply chains for medical radioisotopes are often strained. Actinium-225 (Ac-225) is considered a rare radioisotope and is in short supply for clinical development and commercialization.
 
NorthStar is a global innovator in the development, production, and commercialization of radiopharmaceuticals used for therapeutic applications and medical imaging including non-carrier added (n.c.a) Ac-225. This agreement with Northstar provides a reliable source of Ac-225, which is critical to Cellectrar’s clinical development strategy.
 
“Our PLE platform provides a unique ability to optimize delivery of any radioisotope and can be designed for the treatment of specific tumor types. Our leading alpha emitter program, CLR 121225, utilizes Ac-225 and has demonstrated promising preclinical results in pancreatic, triple negative breast and other solid tumors, justifying the progression to clinical development,” said James Caruso, president and CEO of Cellectar. “We plan to advance CLR 121225 into human clinical trials in 2025 as part of a broader strategy to bring first-and best-in-class radiotherapeutics to market.”
 
“Recent years have seen increased interest in alpha-emitting radiotherapies like Cellectar’s novel TAT compounds, including CLR 121225 and others, but development activities have been hampered by the relative scarcity of Ac-225 supply,” said Frank Scholz, president and CEO of NorthStar. “Our passion is to reduce technological and operational barriers to give companies like Cellectar a reliable source of environmentally preferred, high purity (n.c.a) Ac-225 that will help make these new therapies possible.”
 
The agreement provides supply of Ac-225 from NorthStar for 10 years, and initiation is expected to occur in 2025.