Actithera Acquires Covalent Chemistry Tech for Radiopharmaceuticals
- and OSLO, Norway, Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Actithera, a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapies, today announced an exclusive license agreement with yeda, the commercial arm of...
- The licensed technologies were developed in the laboratory of Professor nir London, an internationally recognized leader in covalent drug design.
- "This agreement represents an important step forward for Actithera," said Andreas Goutopoulos, PhD, Founder and Chief executive Officer of Actithera.
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Actithera Licenses Novel Covalent Chemistry Technologies from Weizmann Institute
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and OSLO, Norway, Oct. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Actithera, a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation radiopharmaceutical therapies, today announced an exclusive license agreement with yeda, the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, for two patent families covering breakthrough covalent chemistry technologies. Actithera will apply these innovations to advance its proprietary platform for radiopharmaceutical drug discovery and development.
The licensed technologies were developed in the laboratory of Professor nir London, an internationally recognized leader in covalent drug design. These approaches enable a highly differentiated way to introduce radioactivity selectively and durably onto tumor-specific proteins, offering the potential to redefine how radiopharmaceuticals are conceived, optimized, and deployed in the clinic.
“This agreement represents an important step forward for Actithera,” said Andreas Goutopoulos, PhD, Founder and Chief executive Officer of Actithera. “By adding Professor London’s pioneering chemistry to our toolkit of proprietary covalent and non-covalent approaches, we are uniquely positioned to unlock new opportunities in cancer treatment. This innovation from the Weizmann Institute enables us to introduce radioactivity directly into tumor cells by irreversibly and tracelessly radiolabeling tumor-specific proteins while keeping them in their native state. We believe that this combination of irreversibility and tracelessness can translate into prolonged retention of radiation within tumors and ultimately improve therapeutic outcomes.”
Elik Chapnik, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Yeda, commented: “We are pleased to partner with Actithera in bringing Professor London’s groundbreaking covalent chemistry technologies into the radiopharmaceutical field. Actithera’s vision and expertise make them an ideal partner to translate these scientific advances into impactful cancer therapies that can benefit patients worldwide.”
The technologies will be integrated into actithera’s existing discovery platform as the company advances its lead FAP-targeting radioligand candidate toward clinical development in multiple indications.This strategic expansion is supported by Act
Key Details of the Agreement
- Exclusive license via Yeda to two Weizmann Institute patent families from Prof. Nir London’s lab, a leader in covalent drug design
- Site-specific, durable and traceless protein radiolabeling approaches intended to enhance tumor selectivity and retention in radiopharmaceuticals
- Integration into Actithera’s platform to support design of next-generation radioligand therapies across oncology indications
Understanding radiopharmaceuticals and Covalent Chemistry
Radiopharmaceuticals are a class of drugs that combine radioactive isotopes with molecules that selectively target cancer cells. The goal is to deliver radiation directly to the tumor, minimizing damage to healthy tissues. Covalent chemistry plays a crucial role in attaching the radioactive isotope to the targeting molecule in a stable and controlled manner