Extra boost for Nuclidium: financing round reaches €115 million

The Swiss radiopharma company Nuclidium AG has closed an oversubscribed extension of CHF 26.4 million to its Series B round from last year, raising a total of CHF 105 million (around €115 million). The round was led by existing investors Kurma Growth Opportunities Fund, Angelini Ventures together with the EIB co-investment facility Aurea, Wellington Partners, and Neva SGR (Intesa Sanpaolo Group). Additional participation came from DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), Bayern Kapital, Vives Partners, and NRW.Bank.

Copper is king

With the fresh capital, Nuclidium plans to accelerate the clinical development of its copper-based radiotheranostics. Key programmes include NU101 for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and NU201 for metastatic breast cancer, both expected to enter therapeutic Phase I/IIa trials this year. The company also intends to expand its global manufacturing and supply network for both diagnostics and therapeutics, while advancing additional preclinical targeting programmes.

Nuclidium’s theranostic approach is based on the copper isotopes copper-61 for diagnostics and copper-67 for therapy. The company argues that this platform offers advantages over existing radioligands in terms of clinical performance as well as manufacturing and clinical workflow integration, with ongoing Phase I/II diagnostic studies reportedly showing positive momentum.

Radiopharma is still hot

Investor interest in radiopharmaceuticals remains strong, with backers noting that the field represents one of the most attractive growth areas in oncology and highlighting Nuclidium’s differentiated copper-based approach and its potential to further advance the integration of diagnosis and therapy.

Recent months have seen a continued acceleration of deal activity in radiopharmaceuticals and radioligand therapy, underlining the sector’s shift towards full value-chain integration and pipeline expansion. Novartis has further strengthened its leadership position through the acquisition of Mariana Oncology for up to $1.75 billion, reinforcing its next-generation radioligand pipeline alongside its marketed assets such as Pluvicto and Lutathera. But it´s not only Novartis screening the landscape.

At the same time, Lantheus has pursued an aggressive consolidation strategy, including the acquisition of Evergreen Theragnostics to secure manufacturing capabilities and expand its theranostic pipeline, as well as the planned purchase of Life Molecular Imaging to broaden its diagnostic imaging portfolio. Eli Lilly continues to build its presence in the field following its acquisition of POINT Biopharma, complementing earlier investments in isotope supply chains and radiopharmaceutical infrastructure. Overall, these transactions highlight a clear industry trend towards vertical integration, combining isotope supply, manufacturing capacity, and paired diagnostic-therapeutic (“theranostic”) platforms within increasingly scalable radiopharma businesses.