an oldie but a goodie

Fund managers back market darling Telix Pharmaceuticals (copyright link)
aug 4 2022

Fund managers back market darling Telix Pharmaceuticals

Telix’s Illuccix product has two core applications. One to detect and identify all prostate cancers in high-risk men before surgery and a second application to detect prostate specific antigens (PSAs) in men who had surgery for prostate cancer, but are at risk of its return.

Bianca Ogden, a healthcare analyst and portfolio manager at Platinum Asset Management, said the asset manager had held Telix shares since its initial public offer at 65¢ per share in October 2017.

“We’ve always been fans of using imaging as a diagnostic,” Dr Ogden said. “Because it’s the easiest way to visualise something. We liked the idea when Telix started out to do this properly and consolidate the industry. And we’ve always invested in the targeted radiotherapy industry as a whole.”

Platinum Asset Management fund manager Bianca Ogden trained as a virologist. Louie Douvis

In November in Australia, Illuccix became the first prostate-specific radioactive imaging agent to gain commercial approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA),

Telix has another treatment for prostate cancer, alongside treatments for brain cancer and renal cancer in its clinical trial pipeline at Phase 2 or 3 stages.

“From a valuation perspective the biggest thing in their locker is their prostate cancer therapy drug, TLX 591. That’s just at the start of Phase 3 trials, so it’s obviously a number of years away,” said Mr Hamilton. “But it still has global leadership in an emerging field, so it’s not a one trick pony. It has a deep pipeline, and we think other products coming behind look good.”

Shares traded up 4 per cent to $7.72 on Thursday for an undiluted market value of $2.41 billion.