Telix shares climb on payment changes for US diagnostic radiotherapy treatments
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More news: Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals jumped after the Melbourne biopharmaceutical company welcomed changes to US regulations around payments for diagnostic radiotherapy treatments.
Telix shares were up 2.9% to $22.08 by 10:40am AEDT, having more than doubled in value since the start of the year.
Telix welcomes new US payment changes on nuclear medicine tests
The news: Telix Pharmaceuticals has welcomed the decision by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to unbundle payments for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals.
This will allow physicians and patients to make decisions based on diagnostic tools rather than just on the reimbursement structure.
The context: Currently in the US, costs associated with diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals are packaged together into payments for nuclear medicine tests.
The new changes announced by CMS will refine the policy to improve the accuracy of overall payment amounts, with separate payments for any diagnostic radiopharmaceutical with a per day cost greater than USD630 ($953).
The Melbourne-based biopharmaceutical company said it welcomes the proposed changes which will see diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals continue to be paid separately by CMS for traditional Medicare Fee for Service patients in the hospital outpatient setting, following the expiry of transitional pass-through payment status.
The changes will apply to Telix's prostate cancer imaging product Illuccix from 1 July 2025, as well as the company's pipeline of investigational diagnostic imaging agents, if approved and reimbursed under CMS, and after their pass-through status expires.
Telix noted that for physicians and patients in the hospital outpatient setting, the new system will enable purchasing decisions to be made based on the latest clinically significant diagnostic tools and evidence of utility, and not only on the reimbursement structure. The change provides greater certainty and consistency in pricing policy across all customer segments, Telix said.
Telix shares surged in July on news of CMS' proposed changes.
What they said: "Telix welcomes the decision by CMS to unbundle payments for diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, as it will provide certainty for patients and physicians seeking access to safe and effective diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals," Telix CEO for precision medicine, Kevin Richardson, said.
"Moreover, it will promote continued investment in bringing new imaging agents to market across a range of disease states, as there is a clear commercial pathway to recouping the investment in innovation and the significant infrastructure and operational costs of delivering high quality service to patients."
The source: ASX announcement
