AdvanCell is combining lead-212 technology with automated manufacturing to help address isotope supply and production challenges in radiopharmaceutical development.
AdvanCell has raised $315 million in an oversubscribed Series D financing to move its lead prostate cancer program toward Phase III development and expand its radiopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity in the US.
In June 2026, AdvanCell leased a 128,000-square-foot building in Andover, Massachusetts, for its global headquarters and first US manufacturing site. The facility will support later-stage clinical development and manufacturing.
Until the Andover site is ready, AdvanCell will use a contract manufacturer for US production. The temporary arrangement will support its ongoing clinical trial while the company builds out its own facility.
Radioligand therapies combine a molecule that recognizes a target on cancer cells with a radioactive isotope. This allows radiation to be delivered more directly to tumors.
The field already includes approved treatments such as Novartis’ Pluvicto, a lutetium-177 therapy for certain patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive metastatic prostate cancer. In March 2025, the FDA expanded its use to some patients before taxane-based chemotherapy.
AdvanCell is developing a related type of treatment using lead-212, which releases alpha particles over a short distance. Its lead candidate, ADVC001, is currently in Phase II development for metastatic prostate cancer. AdvanCell said longer-term Phase Ib follow-up helped support the dose and treatment schedule selected for the Phase II trial. The company plans to present the full updated results at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in October 2026.
Radiopharmaceutical treatments depend on a steady supply of radioactive isotopes and specialized production systems. AdvanCell is building both, which could reduce supply delays and help it produce treatments more consistently. Its lead therapy must still show clinical benefit in larger trials before it can move toward commercial use.
Investment in radioligand therapy development and manufacturing has continued through 2025 and into 2026.
In early 2026, Novartis expanded its US radioligand therapy manufacturing network with plans for two new sites. In January, the company announced a 35,000-square-foot facility in Winter Park, Florida, expected to begin operating in 2029. Novartis also announced a 46,000-square-foot site in Denton, Texas, expected to open in 2028. The facilities would become Novartis’ fourth and fifth US manufacturing sites for radioligand therapies.
Investment is also expanding outside the US. In June 2026, Curium announced plans to invest more than ~36.5 million (€32 million) to add a radioligand therapy production line at its existing site in Saclay, France. The line will produce a lutetium-177 treatment for advanced prostate cancer for the European market and is expected to create 20 skilled jobs.
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