New partners in Thera4Care
Telix's FAP-targeting candidate has been selected for clinical evaluation with terbium-161, while ULB strengthens the consortium's preclinical, AI, and dosimetry research.
Thera4Care is pleased to welcome two new partners to the consortium: Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (Telix) and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Together, they broaden the project's industry and academic expertise as it works towards making personalised radiotheranostics an integral part of cancer care across Europe.
A FAP-targeting candidate for terbium-161
One of Thera4Care's goals is to evaluate novel approaches to targeting metastatic disease in clinical settings. As part of this work, the consortium has selected Telix's fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting dimer, DOTAGA.Glu.(FAPi)2, for clinical testing with terbium-161.
FAP is expressed by the cancer-associated fibroblasts that make up much of the tumour microenvironment in many solid cancers, making it an attractive target for radiotheranostics. Unlike lutetium-177, terbium-161 emits short-range Auger electrons as well as beta particles, which makes it a promising option for targeting micro-metastatic disease.
A Phase I clinical trial will explore the safety profile and preliminary activity of terbium-161-labelled DOTAGA.Glu.(FAPi)2 in patients with FAP-expressing metastatic solid tumours, with an initial focus on ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and sarcoma. This aligns with Telix's own development of TLX400-Tx, the lutetium-177-labelled version of the same compound.
Telix Pharmaceuticals
Telix, a global biopharmaceutical company focused on radiopharmaceuticals, announced on 5 November 2026 that it has joined the project and will contribute to its preclinical and clinical activities.
Telix will initially support the clinical evaluation of terbium-161-labelled DOTAGA.Glu.(FAPi)2. It may also support preclinical evaluations in other indications, where the consortium will explore compounds labelled with scandium-44, copper-64, and copper-67.
The collaboration builds on the consortium's existing preclinical work in this area. Earlier this year, Thera4Care researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and ETH Zurich published a preclinical study in EJNMMI Research showing that terbium-161 and lutetium-177 behave in a pharmacokinetically equivalent way across a range of FAP-targeting radioconjugates.
Ken Herrmann, Professor of Nuclear Medicine at University Hospital Essen and Thera4Care clinical lead, said:
"We are pleased to welcome Telix to Thera4Care and to include its validated FAP-targeting candidate in this collaborative clinical research effort. While we have quite some experience with 177Lu- and 90Y-FAPi compounds, prospectively studying 161Tb-FAPi is a unique opportunity given its emission profile and potential applicability in finding and treating micro-metastatic disease."
David N. Cade, Group Chief Medical Officer at Telix, said that Telix is
"excited to join Thera4Care, a collaboration of leading academic and industry partners",
adding that
"the selection of Telix's FAPi candidate by this independent group of experts reflects its potential".
Read Telix's full press release: Telix Joins Thera4Care with TLX400-Tx to Accelerate Translation of Next Generation FAP-Targeting Theranostics
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a research university in Brussels, founded in 1834 on the principle of free inquiry. It has a strongly international community, with students from around 140 countries, and is active across the sciences, engineering, humanities, and health. Through its Faculty of Medicine and its academic hospital network, which includes the Institut Jules Bordet, ULB contributes to cancer research and care in Belgium.
Within Thera4Care, ULB works closely with the Institut Jules Bordet and takes part in the project's preclinical, artificial intelligence, and dosimetry activities. These contributions are carried out in particular through the NUMIX laboratory at the Center for Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI), and are supported by doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who strengthen the project's radiotheranostics research.