A multibillion-dollar acquisition in the radiopharmaceutical space could be on the horizon, as Lantheus Holding considers a takeover offer from Curium Pharma, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Curium’s proposal values Massachusetts-based Lantheus at about $7 billion, the news outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg said a deal could be weeks away, but final talks have not yet taken place and a deal is not guaranteed.
As a matter of policy, Lantheus “does not comment on market rumors or speculation,” a spokesperson told Fierce Pharma on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Curium “operates in a highly competitive environment, and like all companies, we are constantly evaluating our organizational and external channels to better serve our patients and customers,” a company representative said in an emailed statement. The representative also warned Fiers that Curium “does not comment on market rumors or speculation.”
Last year, Curium was involved in “the world’s largest deal in nuclear medicine” when its majority shareholder, global investment firm Capvest, raised funds to recapitalize Curium through a new continuation vehicle that also valued the radiopharmaceutical company at $7 billion. Curium said at the time that the investor base that participated reflected “a strong belief in the company’s future trajectory in a market that is expected to grow rapidly over the next 15 years.”
Meanwhile, Lantheus has recently been on the other side of the deal table in an acquisition drama of its own.
Early last year, the radiopharmaceutical specialist put in $250 million upfront to acquire Evergreen Theragnostics and committed up to $752.5 million in additional milestone payments. The integration of Evergreen’s manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure with Lantheus’ radiopharmaceutical discovery was intended to help the company “meet the complex demands of radiopharmaceutical development and production,” Lantheus said, and will also add new candidates to the company’s oncology diagnostic pipeline.
Lantheus’ other recent acquisitions include Meilleur Technologies and its Alzheimer’s disease PET imaging agent, Life Molecular Imaging and its approved F-18 PET imaging agent Neuraceq, and an extensive Alzheimer’s disease radiodiagnostic commercial infrastructure.
Lantheus aims to be “disciplined in our capital deployment” and “lay the foundation for accelerated growth starting in 2027” while prioritizing diagnostic radiology while considering “the best path to maximizing the value of our radiotherapy assets,” Interim CEO Mary Ann Heino said in a first-quarter earnings call. Radiopharmaceuticals reported global revenues of $377.3 million in the first quarter of 2026, primarily driven by Neuraceq, ultrasound enhancer Definity, and prostate cancer imaging agent Pylarify.
Meanwhile, next month will expire a 30-month grace period that allowed the FDA to approve Lantheus, a radioequivalent version of Novartis’ gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor treatment drug Lutasera, which the FDA granted interim approval in March.
Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicines made using small amounts of radioactive material, are rapidly gaining popularity. Just last week, radioisotope supplier NioWave broke ground on a new $75 million facility in Lansing, Michigan. The facility will be equipped with multiple superconducting linear accelerators and state-of-the-art processing and quality systems to facilitate increased production of the alpha-emitting isotope actinium-225 (Ac-225).
This class of nuclear medicine can be used in both therapeutic and diagnostic roles.
