Australia's Telix Pharma hits record high after buying UK medical devices firm

(Reuters) - Telix Pharmaceuticals rose over 3% on Thursday to hit an all-time high, after the radiopharma company said it would acquire UK-based medical device firm Lightpoint Medical.

Telix had entered an agreement to buy Lightpoint and its radio-guided surgery business SENSEI, which specialises in intra-operative detection of cancer in real time, the company said after market hours on Wednesday.

Shares of Telix rose as much as 3.5% to A$12.710, their record high. The stock also marked its fifth consecutive session of gains and was among the top gainers on the ASX 200 benchmark index, which fell 1.5% by 0305 GMT.

The purchase price comprises an upfront equity payment of $20 million, and an additional earn-out payment of $15 million on completion of certain milestones.

The deal follows a strategic collaboration between the two companies in August 2021 to develop SENSEI for prostate cancer.

The Lightpoint SENSEI business will be integrated into Telix, creating a new surgeon-focused business unit, the company said.

Telix said its initial aim is to align SENSEI with its lead program Illuccix to treat prostate cancer and, then potentially expand into other urologic and non-urologic malignancies.

It will undertake a share placement to fund the acquisition, which is expected to close in three months.

(Reporting by Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)