Telix and Varian Forge Alliance to Reshape Cancer Radiation Therapy

PALO ALTO, CA – December 10, 2025 – In a move that signals a significant shift in the oncology landscape, Australian biopharmaceutical firm Telix Pharmaceuticals and radiation oncology leader Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, have announced a strategic clinical collaboration. The partnership aims to fuse Telix’s advanced radiopharmaceutical imaging agents with Varian’s cutting-edge external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) systems. While the initial focus is on prostate cancer, the deal represents a foundational strategy to redefine the very workflow of cancer treatment, creating a powerful new synergy between diagnostics and therapy.

This isn't just another clinical trial announcement; it's a calculated maneuver to create an integrated ecosystem where seeing a tumor with molecular precision and treating it with adaptive radiation become two sides of the same coin. By embedding Telix’s theranostics directly into the treatment planning and delivery process, the alliance challenges the traditional, often siloed, approach to cancer care and positions both companies to capture a new frontier in personalized medicine.

The New Blueprint for Precision Oncology

The collaboration's immediate goal is to merge Telix's PSMA-PET imaging agents, Illuccix® and the newly approved Gozellix®, with Varian's AI-driven Ethos™ adaptive radiotherapy platform. This combination moves beyond static, one-size-fits-all treatment plans. Telix’s agents are designed to light up prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a protein overexpressed on prostate cancer cells, allowing clinicians to visualize the precise location and extent of the disease with a PET scan.

The true innovation lies in what happens next. The high-fidelity data from these scans will be fed directly into Varian’s Ethos system. Ethos therapy is at the vanguard of adaptive radiotherapy, using artificial intelligence to adjust a patient's treatment plan in real-time before each session. Tumors can shrink, shift, or change shape during a course of radiation, and surrounding healthy organs can move. Ethos accounts for these daily anatomical variations, re-optimizing the radiation dose to maximize tumor targeting while sparing healthy tissue.

By integrating Telix's PSMA-PET data, radiation oncologists can potentially achieve an unprecedented level of personalization. They will not only see the tumor's exact contours for initial planning but can also monitor the biological response to treatment, using subsequent scans to guide further adaptations. As Dr. Arthur Kaindl, Head of Varian, stated in the announcement, this collaboration opens a “powerful pathway to embed precision imaging and theranostics into the radiation therapy workflow.”

A Strategic Play in a Crowded Field

This partnership is as much a strategic masterstroke as it is a clinical advancement. The prostate cancer market, particularly the segment for PSMA-targeted theranostics, is becoming intensely competitive. Novartis has established a formidable presence with Pluvicto®, a radioligand therapy that also targets PSMA and is projected to generate billions in revenue. Other major players, including Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca, are advancing their own PSMA-targeted therapies through late-stage trials in a market projected to exceed $6 billion by 2030.

Telix and Varian are choosing to compete on a different axis. Instead of developing a proprietary therapeutic to directly rival Pluvicto, Telix is leveraging its diagnostic strength to form an alliance with the undisputed leader in radiation delivery hardware. Varian's systems are installed in thousands of clinics worldwide. This collaboration effectively turns that massive installed base into a potential ecosystem for Telix's imaging agents. For Varian, it enhances the value proposition of its flagship Ethos platform, making it the central hub for a new, more precise standard of care.

This strategy allows both companies to create a competitive moat built on workflow integration rather than a single drug. Hospitals and cancer centers already invested in Varian’s ecosystem will have a streamlined path to adopting advanced imaging-guided radiotherapy, potentially favoring Telix's agents due to their seamless integration. Gozellix®, with its longer shelf-life and extended distribution radius, further strengthens this logistical advantage, enabling the partnership to reach a wider network of treatment centers.

Beyond the Beam: A New Era for Radiation Oncology

The implications of this deal extend beyond corporate strategy to the very practice of medicine. It promises to elevate the role of the radiation oncologist, transforming them from a specialist focused on treatment delivery into the conductor of a highly integrated diagnostic and therapeutic process. Armed with molecular imaging data, these clinicians will be better equipped to select the right patients for EBRT, personalize dose painting to target the most aggressive parts of a tumor, and make data-driven decisions about treatment efficacy.

“Integrating theranostics into EBRT has the potential to improve patient outcomes,” noted Dr. Christian Behrenbruch, Telix Group CEO. This vision directly addresses a long-standing challenge in oncology: ensuring that the treatment plan is not only based on the initial diagnosis but also adapts to the patient's unique biological response over time. The framework supports both company-sponsored and investigator-led studies, fostering a broad clinical exploration that could rapidly generate the evidence needed to establish this integrated approach as the new standard of care.

A Framework for the Future of Cancer Care

While prostate cancer is the opening act, the collaboration is explicitly designed as a “general framework for future co-development opportunities.” This forward-looking structure is perhaps the most disruptive aspect of the announcement. Telix’s pipeline includes promising imaging agents for other cancers, such as TLX250-CDx (Zircaix®) for kidney cancer and TLX101-CDx (Pixclara®) for brain tumors. The partnership with Varian provides a clear pathway to apply the same integrated model to these and other future indications.

This alliance serves as a powerful template for the future of the medical industry, where value is created not just by developing a single product, but by building platforms that combine hardware, software, and biotechnology. By uniting best-in-class molecular imaging with best-in-class radiation therapy, Telix and Varian are not just improving a single treatment; they are building a scalable and defensible paradigm for personalized cancer care that could reshape treatment strategies for years to come.