Welcome to Telix's Hybrid AGM. For those of you who do not know me, my name's Genevieve Ryan, and I'm Telix's Company Secretary. It's a pleasure to welcome you to our eighth AGM. I'll run through the procedural aspects of the meeting shortly, but to start, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and the community. We pay our respect to their Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples joining the meeting physically and online today. Could I please ask that no photographs or recordings of the meeting be taken today? A recording of the presentations will be made available on Telix's website shortly. I'd like to bring to your attention a minor error within the notice of meeting.
On page 16, in the table under the heading Performance Conditions for 2025 PSARs, the EBITDA target figure should be $1.284 billion instead of $1.058 billion. Also confirming that item 3D has been withdrawn. I will now briefly discuss the voting and AGM procedures. Shareholders and proxies who are here today in Sydney will have received an admittance card. A yellow card was issued to shareholders and proxies entitled to vote. A blue card was issued to shareholders entitled to speak but not to vote. Visitors have been issued a white card. I remind visitors that they are not entitled to speak or vote today. For shareholders and proxies attending online, please follow the instructions in the online guide to cast your vote. The resolutions at today's meeting will be decided by a poll.
The Chairman will declare when voting is open, and Rachel Teo of MUFG Corporate Markets, Telix's share registry, will act as the returning officer in relation to the poll and will collect your completed voting cards at the end of the meeting or before if you need to leave early. Voting for online participants will close five minutes after the meeting is formally closed. If there are any procedural aspects you are uncertain about, please ask one of the share registry team members, or if attending online, call the telephone number provided on the online platform. The results of the poll will be made available later this afternoon on Telix or the ASX website. In terms of the procedure for questions and comments, we will invite questions from shareholders and proxies after tabling each item of business.
The Chairman will take questions firstly from those here in the room, followed by online audio questions and then written questions received through the online platform. If you are physically present and would like to ask a question, please raise your hand, show your yellow or blue card to the microphone attendant, and introduce yourself before asking your question. If you are participating online and would like to ask a live audio question, please click on the Ask a Question button and then click Go to Webphone. Follow the prompt to join the queue to ask your question at the relevant time. Online written questions can be submitted at any time by clicking on the Ask a Question button and entering in your question or comment in the box provided. In fact, we encourage you to do so now.
Questions will be moderated for inappropriate language, and if we receive more than one question relating to the same topic, we may answer them as one. Also, if your question is too long, we may need to summarize it in the interest of time. Now, that covers the logistics of the meeting, and I will now hand over to our Chairman, Kevin McCann.
Thank you, Genevieve. Look, it's now past 10:00 A.M., and I'll declare the meeting formally open. Before I do that, I'd like to make some introductions, particularly people on the top table. You've met Genevieve. On her left is Dr. Christian Behrenbruch, our CEO. Next to him is Tiffany Olson. Tiffany is the Chairman-elect, and as soon as I declare this meeting closed, I disappear and she becomes Chair. Next to her is Jann Skinner. Jan has been with us for a number of years. She chairs the Audit and Risk Committee, and I'll say more about her when she comes up for re-election. Next is Dr. Mark Nelson, who's a Founding Director of the Company. Next is Marie, who is our newest Director, and she's heading Marie McDonald, who's our newest Director and is going to head up people, culture, and remuneration.
I would also now like to introduce some key executives to you. Our Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Darren Smith, if you'd like to get up, Darren. Okay. Next is Dr. Cade, who's our Chief Medical Officer. Next to him is Mr. Richard Valeix. Richard is based in Geneva and heads up our therapeutic medicine. Kevin Richardson, who's based in the United States, heads up precision medicine. Raphaël Ortiz , although he's based in Geneva, actually heads the rest of the world. He's Europe and Asia and has been a very, very effective person in Asia as well. That is the key Executives. We've also got our auditor, Brad Peek, who will be available to answer any questions if there are. I am now going to show you a short video showcasing our extensive pipeline before I start my address.
At Telix, we're driven by a common purpose: to create products that help people with cancer and rare diseases live longer, better quality lives. To develop and deliver radiopharmaceuticals, which have a relatively short half-life. Due to their unique properties, supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics matter. Telix Manufacturing Solutions, or TMS for short, is a global network of facilities where continued focus and investment in infrastructure and technologies is equipping Telix to deliver patient doses worldwide.
In 2023, we opened our state-of-the-art good manufacturing production facility in the heart of Belgium's Radio Pharma Valley, one of the largest of its kind in Europe. This will serve as Telix's primary manufacturing site for the EMEA region, and it has also been designed as a central hub for collaborative R&D, including a dedicated laboratory for alpha therapies.
Telix Optimal Tracers here in California and Isotherapeutics in Texas further bolster our in-house capabilities in radiochemistry, bioconjugation, isotope processing, and commercial production.
Our RMS business in Vancouver, with its next-generation cyclotron isotope production technology, secures the radioisotope supply chain for Telix's commercial products. Efficient high-yield production techniques will facilitate broader patient access to therapeutic and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals.
In Australia, we're building a facility for early-phase clinical research and radiopharmaceutical production. The location in Melbourne's Parkville Precinct is in close proximity to major hospitals, world-leading academic institutions, and research centers.
What attracted Telix to the RLS opportunity? There are a few reasons. First, RLS is a valued partner with proven success preparing and distributing Illuccix. Secondly, they have a large footprint with over 30 locations, which ensures access to imaging centers and patients across the country. Finally, they have large, uniform, fit-for-purpose clean rooms that allow for expansion from both the pharmacy practice standpoint and potential future manufacturing capabilities.
This investment in world-class infrastructure is helping us to develop new products and secure the critical supplies needed to develop the next generation of cancer treatments. This is all part of our dedication to meet the needs of our patients today and in the future, wherever they are in the world.
I hope you found that interesting. It's a very good account of some of the facilities that the Company has across the world. Now, before we move to the formal business, I'll give you some observations about Telix and the environment in which we operate. I'll then hand over to Chris to speak further about the progress of the Company, more detail about our products and our growth strategy. Then we'll move to the procedural matters required under the annual general meeting today. As you probably know, this is my final AGM as Chairman of Telix. I would like to begin by reflecting on how I got here eight years ago. I met with Dr. Behrenbruch and his Co-Founder, Dr. Andreas Kluge, and they invited me to join the Board of Telix as Chairman. It was a startup Company at the time.
Chris explained in a compelling presentation, really, that he had a mission to improve the lives of cancer patients while building genuine commercial success. His passion for his purpose led me to join him in the startup. As you say, the rest is history. Eight years later, Telix is now a truly global stage Company with a track record of consistent revenue growth and a pipeline of products and opportunities ahead. By global, I'm referring to the fact that our first cancer imaging agent, Illuccix, is now available well beyond the United States, with approvals this year announced for the United Kingdom and a number of European countries, including France, Sweden, and the Netherlands, and of course in Australia.
I'm pleased to be able to say that Telix now stretches from the tropics of Rio de Janeiro to the wintery climes of Scandinavia. In addition, we now have multiple products on the market. We expect one of which is Gozellix and was recently approved. We also expect the U.S. FDA to communicate its decision regarding the approval of Zircaix, our kidney cancer imaging candidate, in August this year. Now, while the decision on Pixclara, which is our imaging product for glioblastoma brain cancer, has been delayed, we remain committed to determine an approach—approval—an approach to get a pathway with the FDA so we can bring this product to patients in the U.S. and elsewhere as soon as possible. Beyond this growing precision medicine portfolio, we also have a deep pipeline of late-stage and next-generation therapeutic products.
They include, and we're focused on our mission, to see and treat a range of cancers. Now, we have several inflection points ahead for these programs in 2025, and Dr. Behrenbruch will touch on these in more detail in his address. Another very important source of our competitive advantage in this area is our truly global manufacturing capability, which you saw in the video and which we have built in recent years. It spans the U.S., and you saw our Brussels South, Belgium facility, which can supply Europe and the U.K. This network is a very important point of differentiation from competitors. It protects our supply chain in both regions in times of geopolitical uncertainty. Now, let me turn to financial performance and strategy. As you saw from our report, we delivered a very strong financial performance in 2024.
I note that we moved to the U.S. dollar reporting in 1 January this year, so the figures I quote will be in U.S. dollars. Telix generated total revenue of $517 million, an increase of 55% from the $334 million in 2023. In quarter one 2025, we announced a positive quarterly revenue of $186 million, a 62% increase year- over- year from the $115 million in Q1 2024. You will see the kind of progress we are making. In terms of total shareholder return, or TSR, strong growth in our share price has contributed to an impressive return of 76% over the past 12 months. While generating revenue is important, strategic allocation is crucial to the company's success. On that note, I note that we have been sound and disciplined in our financial management.
We have a well-communicated policy of using the capital generated by commercial sales to develop our—to fund our development pipeline with the goal of building a truly diversified theranostic company. This will continue to underpin Telix's strategic decisions and financial management. Also, in 2024, we made a number of strategic acquisitions focused on delivering infrastructure and pipeline expansion. In 2024, these have added to our pipeline and capacity to meet future need. Of particular importance is that we have enhanced our product profile with next-generation assets and proprietary technology. We intend this year to diversify revenue through platform and geographic expansion. Now, let me turn to governance and sustainability. It's important to observe that in the long term, if we want growth, we must be sustainable.
Our 2024 sustainability report demonstrates the ongoing work of the company across what we call the Five Ps: Purpose, People, Planet, Principles, and Performance. I really commend this report to you if you want to have more knowledge about our work in those areas. From 2026, we will be required to report under Australia's mandatory climate reporting regime, and the company has undertaken a considerable amount of work to ensure we have the data to comply with this important initiative. Now, let me turn to corporate governance. The independence of founder-led companies has been a recent focus in Australia in relation to ASX-listed companies. From the date of its Australian listing, Telix has had a Board of truly independent Non-Executive Directors, or NEDs, with the skills required for the Company.
I can confirm to you that each of the NEDs has focused on working with management to meet the governance standards required by legislation, regulators, shareholders, and other stakeholders. As the Company has grown, we have continued to evolve our standard of governance to meet the needs and expectations of a dual-listed entity, which, as you will appreciate, are complex. In addition to complying with the ASX listing rules, our Nasdaq listing has moved the Company to U.S. compliance standards, which are significantly different from Australia. It is a rigorous and demanding regime and brings an enhanced level of regulatory scrutiny. Additionally, a key requirement of the listing is that we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which deals with controls in the Company. We have got a resource team for the compliance program and to educate all employees on the topic.
The Board has continued to maintain these governance responsibilities and to ensure that we have the requisite skills to meet them going forward. Now, let me turn to the important topic of Board renewal. Reflecting on my eight-year tenure as Chairman of Telix, it's been a great pleasure to work alongside my fellow Directors, and I thank them for their commitment and dedication. We have an independent, highly skilled Board, and each Director contributes their own distinctive mix of skills and experience. We have enhanced our skills with the appointment of Tiffany Olson as my successor as Chair. She brings industry experience and a deep knowledge of the radiopharma market in the U.S., U.K., and Europe. Marie McDonald, our most recent Director, is an experienced ASX Life Science Director with a deep knowledge of global remuneration practice, really important in a Company that's now truly global.
It's unfortunate that Anne Whitaker, a U.S. appointee, could not continue in her role as a NED due to unforeseen personal and family reasons. However, we intend to progress with Board renewal by adding a Director with U.S. and international experience in view of the importance of our operations in the United States and our other global markets. Now, can I finish by saying goodbye and thanks? Firstly, thanks again to my colleagues on the Board. Dr. Andreas Kluge, our Co-Founder, who's not here today, but my thanks to his contribution to the Board and particularly me. I've been blessed by having some really outstanding NEDs, colleagues on the Board. My fellow founding NEDs, Mr. Oliver Buck and Dr. Mark Nelson, always helped me as a lawyer and an M&A expert, not a scientist. They always help me in explaining the chemistry involved in radiopharma.
Mark has invariably been available to me to help me with science, financial markets, and governance. Jann Skinner is an absolutely outstanding Chair of the Audit Committee, a collaborative colleague, and the sort of person you always need on a Board. Marie McDonald, as Chair of the People Committee, has got off to a really good start. She's reviewing our remuneration structure to ensure that it's aligned with global practice and incentivizes our employees. Now, may I come to our CEO and Co-Founder, Dr. Christian Behrenbruch. Chris is an authentic leader who is absolutely true to the company's purpose, which is to make life better for people suffering from cancer. He really does walk the talk. It was him who devised the integrated strategy, which we implemented in 2024 and protected our vital market in the United States.
He has taken Telix from a very modest startup in 2017 to a company now in the ranks of the ASX 100 and also listed on Nasdaq. Can I emphasize that Telix would not be the success story it is in 2024 without his singular vision and his tireless work as Managing Director and Group CEO? I've also appreciated working and receiving support from our Senior Executives, and I'll give thanks to them in another forum. Finally, shareholders, can I thank you for your support as we journeyed from a startup to the ASX 100 and Nasdaq. On a personal level, I've enjoyed interacting with not only major institutional shareholders but also retail shareholders. Finally, it's been an absolute privilege for me to lead the Board of your company. On that note, I'm going to hand over to Chris to give his presentation.
Thanks, Kevin. I really appreciate it.
Thanks, Kevin. I think that when he says an authentic leader, it means I swear a lot. I obviously appreciate the kind words and share his acknowledgment of the Board over the last years, but also the Executive team that's present in the room today is also fundamental to the success of the Company. It's a team effort for sure. Good morning, shareholders and colleagues. Today, I'd like to give you a short update on the progress of the company and how our growth strategy, which has been somewhat outlined already, is defining an organization that is far greater than the sum of the parts. This slide outlines in a high-level, very simplified way what the Company's strategy is, and it's very simple. We deliver on a late-stage pipeline, which we're really relying on to build the future of this field.
We're growing our commercial precision medicine business, which is led by Kevin Richardson here in the front row, and expand our global infrastructure to guarantee cost-effective patient access. As a therapeutics-focused Company, we continue to deliver on our late-stage pipeline, and we made demonstrable progress both last year and into this year. Certainly, there's plenty of more catalysts and opportunities this year to engage on this topic. At the same time, we're building the clinical products of the future by leveraging our research platform to develop a next-generation pipeline of products that will underpin the Telix five to seven years from now. This innovation includes new developments in technology around alpha therapies and particularly around engineered biologics.
We continue to grow our Precision Medicine or Diagnostics portfolio, which helps validate many of the targets that underpin the therapeutic programs that we're developing and, of course, finances our extensive R&D activities. We now have multiple commercial products in the market, and we are focused on geographic and product expansion, as evidenced by 13 product approvals in global jurisdictions alone this year. To ensure that we can deliver on these strategic pillars, we continue to expand the global infrastructure that underpins it all, as you've seen in the opening video, which is commented, by the way, by Darren Patti, our Group COO. As I think most investors understand by now, there is no magic isotope store in the sky, and there isn't a man with a van that just turns up with a just-in-time manufactured product.
Radiopharma is a logistically and supply-chain-intensive field of medicine, and the network of capabilities that we've built globally and also, of course, obtained through acquisition is critical for the reliable delivery of just-in-time manufactured products like ours. Kevin has already touched upon our 2024 financial results. Our continued strong revenue and earnings performance, coupled with excellent progress against strategy, has enabled us to create a diversified business and a platform for future growth. We now have three commercial products, Illuccix, Gozellix, and Scintimun, and they provide us with the foundation to drive revenue and expand into new markets globally. We have one of the deepest therapeutic radiopharmaceutical pipelines in the industry, and we are poised to have three assets in pivotal trials on the therapy side of things by the end of this year.
Part of the strength of our pipeline is the ability to have those multiple shots on goal in areas of clinical focus. We use different mechanisms of action and targeting agents to attack cancer, sometimes even in the same disease area. Urology and Neuro-oncology clearly remain the core focus of the business, but we are also starting to collect data that's very exciting in other disease areas as well. These collectively represent growth opportunities and valuation arbitrage for the future of the company. All of this gives us the flexibility to build clinical depth across the patient journey, to build effective and commercially driven life cycle management programs, which is a big focus of the company right now for our lead programs. This will all become increasingly apparent as we advance our next-generation pipeline, particularly on the therapeutic side of things.
Our manufacturing and product strategy is focused on building supply chain resilience, including investing alongside carefully selected business partners in key geographies. This has enabled the creation of a vertically integrated and scalable business that's really quite unlike any other company in our field. In the nascent industry of radiopharma, this is a vital opportunity to bring together the specialist skill sets and capabilities and to build a significant competitive moat. I'm also bound to tell you that this comes within a limited window of opportunity because the industry is going through quite a bit of consolidation, really as a function of the commercial success and the clinical momentum that we have in the radiopharma space. The goal of diversifying our business is not only to create opportunities for growth and enhance our competitive edge.
It is also key to the management of both intrinsic and extrinsic risk, particularly in the current global geopolitical climate that we find ourselves in. A little bit on capital allocation, because I know it's a topic of interest to shareholders, particularly as the business matures. Telix has always clearly articulated our approach to capital allocation. Our Commercial business is the engine of revenue generation, and we strategically reinvest those earnings in line with our capital allocation framework. R&D investment, on the other hand, is weighted towards late-stage high-potential assets with the potential to maximize return on capital with a relatively near-term horizon. Typically, we're looking for a couple of years. We aim to keep operating expenses, R&D, and commercial costs at a fairly consistent percentage of revenue.
This fosters a disciplined approach to investing in growth opportunities, like some of the transactions you've seen over the last 18-24 months. Our current financial risk management policy also requires us to keep a minimum cash buffer of $100 million. CapEx includes continued investment in our manufacturing assets in order to continue to build that capacity. For example, this year, we'll be installing a number of cyclotrons into select RLS radiopharmacies in the United States. We will continue to expand the GMP manufacturing footprint at our Brussels South facility in Belgium and potentially other locations outside of the United States. Our approach to M&A is to be selective and strategic, and something that I'll outline in a little more detail shortly. Every opportunity is assessed in terms of how it will contribute to the Company's growth.
Return on capital is now a standard part of the Telix vernacular, particularly as internally, there's actually quite a bit of competition for our financial resources. We have a lot more ideas than we have dollars to spend, so it's a pretty interesting internal discussion. Okay, a little bit, I'd actually prefer to have Kevin up here with his Texas twang talking about our precision medicine business, but I'll take a moment to give you a bit more color and where this business is growing and evolving in the near term. To date, Illuccix has been our main revenue driver. This has enabled us to build a solid commercial footprint, brand presence, and market insights. This will support us as we launch new products and operate in new geographies. Illuccix, in some respects, has been the Company's set of training wheels that lays the foundation for future product launches.
We certainly have multiple opportunities for growth across the Precision Medicine portfolio. I'll give you a few examples. Gozellix, our second prostate cancer imaging product, is now commercially available in the United States. It's been launched and is being distributed. It really differentiates Telix as the only provider with two approved PSMA imaging agents with very distinct clinical benefit to patients and physicians. We are also now rolling out, under Raph's excellent leadership, Gozellix globally, with European approvals coming in almost on a weekly basis. We are now moving into the commercial launch phase in those other territories as well. Our global rollout makes us, by the way, the only company that's really able to deliver a consistent product in essentially any territory where prostate cancer clinical trials are being conducted.
Many of the most recent trials require PSMA imaging as part of their clinical activity for patient selection and treatment response assessment. It gives us a very strategic insight into where the overall field of prostate cancer is going. Along this line, we're also making strong headway in China and Japan. The Illuccix China registration enabling study has just completed recruitment, and we have reached agreement with the CDE, that's the Chinese regulator, on the registration pathway for this product. Also, after a considerable period of negotiation, like a couple of years, we have also agreed with the PMDA, which is the Japanese regulator, on a modest bridging study to attain regulatory approval for Illuccix in Japan. We're really well underway in these other quite commercially important territories. We're getting ready to launch that study in Japan very soon.
I know many people are watching Ziruxx very closely. This is our renal cancer product. We continue to prosecute our filing activities in the United States. It's a key focus of the company right now, and we're having good engagement with the FDA on this process. Yeah. On the topic of Zircaix, we have also formally commenced scientific advice and engagement with European regulators. We are also committed in the near term to getting Zircaix filed in Europe as well. It won't be such a long gap between the U.S. and Europe as it was for Illuccix. We have a clearly defined pathway for attaining approval for this very innovative product in that region. I will address the elephant in the room. The complete response letter that we got for Pixclara was certainly a disappointing outcome, but we are very steadfastly committed to this program.
We've actually already had preliminary informal engagement with the FDA to gain feedback on the submission and their decision. I think we have a pathway forward for this asset. At this point in time, we believe that completing the submission process in this calendar year is still achievable. It is one of the very clear and very strong focus areas for the Company. In the meanwhile, we continue to honor our commitment to patients under the expanded access program. This is essentially the compassionate use program that we have running in the United States. It is very important that we continue to make sure that this important technology is available to patients with brain cancer. Last of all, earlier this year, we elected to bring the sales and marketing of an out-licensed product called Scintimun back in-house. This is an imaging product that targets CD66.
This is a target that's expressed by neutrophils, which are essentially part of your immune system. The purpose of this product is for imaging infection. It's approved in 32 countries in Europe and Mexico and a few other jurisdictions. Following a transition period that includes some manufacturing process modernization and some drug package amendments, we intend to significantly augment commercial distribution and indication expansion for this product. Hospital-acquired infections and other types of infection applications are really on the rise globally, and we see lots of opportunities for this product. This investment is further justifiable given that the targeting agent used in this product also forms the basis of the platform for a therapeutic program that we have in bone marrow conditioning and hematologic oncology. We're really killing two birds with one stone in investing in that program.
I haven't been advancing the slides, which is very frustrating for you. I do apologize. I clicked, but I wasn't getting through. There we go. Is that it? No. I do apologize. I think this is the correct slide. Our PSMA product strategy is an excellent example of how we are proactively expanding the clinical and commercial opportunities within a product class. We have built a reputation for excellence in customer service and product innovation, and this is helping us to protect and grow market share. Gozellix is a prime example of this and will sit alongside Illuccix, allowing us to expand reach into previously untouched parts of the market. At the same time, it maximizes choice for our customers based on preference, workflow, and reimbursement needs. However, we believe that the market for PSMA PET imaging can be expanded further through both product innovation and clinical leadership.
Our goal is to own the PSMA market through expanded solutions, and these solutions should be delivered with the service and flexibility and reliability that patients and customers have come to expect from Telix. The strategy centers around maximizing options for physicians to the benefit of their patients, and you'll hear more about this in the coming months as we expand our product lifecycle management strategy. We are also preparing to launch a study supporting a label expansion of prostate cancer imaging for use in place of surgical biopsy. These types of label expansion studies could significantly expand the addressable market by taking PSMA earlier into the patient journey. Frankly, whatever product images the patient first is likely to follow that patient journey. It is strategically important that we get there at the front of that journey as a company.
We believe that this type of R&D investment offers an attractive return on capital as well as improving the patient experience and delivering improved health outcomes. On the Therapeutic side of the business, Therapeutics are core to Telix's strategy and investment priorities in 2025. This is really a particularly important year for our late-stage assets. ProstACT GLOBAL , which is our Phase III trial in prostate cancer, continues to recruit successfully, and we are preparing to close out enrollment for part one of the Phase III trial, which will be followed by an interim readout a couple of months later. We are also working towards pivotal trials in renal cancer and glioblastoma and have had extensive regulator engagement around potential study designs. The early-stage pipeline has multiple programs that span a range of disease states and targets.
A recent addition to the pipeline is TLX400, a candidate that targets the fibroblast activation protein, or FAP, in the tumor microenvironment. Both FAP and carbonic anhydrase-9 have pan-cancer potential, although initial clinical research was focused on our lead indications in Urologic Oncology. I'd like to briefly highlight our Neuro-oncology therapy program, TLX101, as it's really going to make some transformational strides this year. This is our product for the treatment of glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer. Per our public disclosures, new clinical data from the Phase II IPAX-Linz study was released last month in peer-reviewed publication. This study reported promising efficacy data for patients with high-grade glioma, showing a median overall survival of 32.2 months from initial diagnosis and 12.4 months from initiation of treatment.
Although it was a compact study, this is an encouraging result, particularly given the advanced stage of disease in those patients and the genetic profile of the patients under care. The IPAX-Linz study also confirmed the safety and tolerability of TLX101. The safety data will form part of the package for regulatory submission to commence a pivotal trial. We are actively consulting with regulators and are targeting commencement of the study later this year, likely starting with ex-U.S. sites that already have extensive clinical experience with a product candidate. The image on the right that you can see in front of you shows a compassionate use case from a leading cancer hospital in the Netherlands. This was for a patient that had exhausted all conventional treatment options. Patients with glioblastoma typically have a life expectancy of 12-15 months from initial diagnosis.
However, here we see a clinically stable disease 18 months from initiation of therapy or 27 months from initial diagnosis. If we can show this outcome in a larger sample size with appropriate controls, this will be a very high-impact product in an area of medicine that's had no real innovation for about 30 years. Our planned expansion of Pixclara will also concurrently support TLX101 therapy indication expansion, particularly into earlier lines of treatment. We also see potential for this product in metastatic brain cancer, where the cancer has metastasized from other locations such as lung, breast, and colorectal cancer. Lots of potential for this program as it evolves. We've talked a little bit about manufacturing today, and I promise you I'm getting towards the end of my summary. Turning briefly to Telix Manufacturing Solutions business unit, it's worth reiterating that the radiopharma supply chain is complex.
It requires substantial investment to ensure that we can reliably deliver patient outcomes every single day. This is why Telix has built a global network of production facilities and radiopharmacies, which provides a crucial competitive advantage in today's market. Our strategy is to bring together a unique set of capabilities from bioconjugation through to isotope production and finished pharmaceutical production to build the capacity we need to meet current and future demands. While this is a global footprint, its operation is also highly localized to meet the unique regulatory requirements and cost basis of individual jurisdictions, as well as being close to the patient and the needs of the patient. This especially helps us to manage the risk of things like tariffs and other trade barriers affecting the supply and cost of our products.
The more astute amongst you may also notice that there's a new blue dot on the map, which is in Japan. This is the latest addition to the Telix Manufacturing Solutions global network. This is a radiopharmaceutical production facility in Yokohama that's equipped with a cyclotron that we have recently taken over from a partner. Japan is actually the second largest homogenous market in the world for nuclear medicine after the United States, with a growing reimbursement landscape for PET products. We have made several acquisitions in recent years to secure this supply chain. While the rationale for each may not be apparent in isolation, it's instructive to show some case studies that paint a picture of how all the different pieces come together. I'll show you two examples now. The first one is we recently announced the outcomes of the successful R&D program around producing lead-212.
This is a promising isotope for targeted alpha therapy, but has been historically very difficult to produce at scale. Recent changes in radioactive material transport regulations have made existing generator approaches almost commercially unviable in several major markets. However, by bringing together the talented minds at Isotherapeutics in Texas, we developed and validated a really breakthrough generator technology that greatly increases the potential for commercial-scale production and distribution, particularly for the U.S. market. We can also now make lead-212 available to the scientists at Telix Targeting Solutions. Telix Targeting Solutions are the Los Angeles-based team who joined us after the acquisition of the ImaginAb assets and laboratory facilities.
As this team pioneers new engineered proteins, biologics, as I've described them before, they now have at their disposal a reliable source of this promising alpha nuclide, which is almost perfectly matched to the characteristics of the novel products that they are developing. This is very high-value R&D that will enable us to rapidly build a future drug pipeline. Again, this is the Telix five years from now. Fast forward to the time when lead-212 is used as an improved alpha therapeutic, let's consider who would use our proprietary commercial-scale lead production generator: RLS radiopharmacies. RLS has the capacity to deploy this technology alongside its dispensing nuclear pharmacies, making the drug product and then putting it in a syringe and delivering it to patients.
With some further infrastructure and quality system upgrades, we expect RLS and select partners to play a pivotal role in production and distribution of Telix's next-generation products. This is a really nice cameo of how all of the pieces come together, at least on the therapeutic side of the business. A bit more proximal in time, ARTMS. We made the acquisition of Vancouver, Canada-based ARTMS. It is a strategic acquisition alongside RLS. It is also key to the buildout of this next-generation isotope capability. The ARTMS team created a groundbreaking technology called the quantum irradiation system, or QIS. This makes cyclotron-based isotope production really efficient. It increases the scale of production, and it substantially reduces cost.
Importantly, it all fits on standard commercially available production cyclotrons and is being rolled out through our partner distribution network, including at a number of Telix's RLS sites, as I've previously mentioned. This has immediate application for increased production capacity of gallium-68. That's the key isotope that's used in Gozellix and Illuccix and other gallium-based products that are in the pipeline. QIS also underpins much of our future commercial isotope production, including zirconium-89 for Zircaix, which, of course, is subject to the FDA's final approval. That product relies very heavily on the ARTMS technology for its production success. In short, the ARTMS technology is a key enabler for both Gozellix and Zircaix and enables us to supercharge RLS into that radiometal-centric production environment and distribution network of the future.
We expect that our in-house cyclotron technologies team will also underpin future products, including alpha therapies based on actinium-225 and astatine-211, for which we already have some development experience in producing new target technologies. It will be a substantial competitive advantage to Telix to have more cyclotrons powered by QIS available in our national network of in-house and partner radiopharmacies. This will help us to further extend patient reach, drive more efficient production, and reinforce supply chain reliability. I'm sure somewhat mercifully now, I'll wrap up with the final slide of my presentation, which is really the catalysts. Bringing this all together and kind of returning to the present day, I'd like to conclude with a snapshot of the key catalysts that we are focused on in 2025. It's evident that we've already achieved a great deal this year.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we have multiple catalysts, which include moving our late-stage assets into pivotal trials, progressing label expansion studies, and completing part one of ProstACT GLOBAL as an immediate priority, as I've already mentioned. Last year, I stood at this same lectern and said that 2024 would be the biggest year yet for Telix, and I think that proved to be the case. Today, I make a similar prediction again for 2025 as we continue to execute on our strategy and continue the momentum that we've built as a company. Finally, before I wrap up my brief snapshot of Telix's progress, I would like to take a minute to personally thank Kevin McCann, Telix's outgoing Chairman, for almost eight outstanding years of leadership and service to the Company. Kevin's strength and focus on corporate governance has helped to build a strong Telix.
Obviously, we will continue to grow and evolve, but the foundations are there. Kevin led a very patient-centric culture, which I can assure you will be pervasive in his absence. At a personal level, he's been a thoughtful and supportive Chairman who has both listened to me and challenged me. Kevin makes his CEO work very hard. I have no doubt that this productive dynamic will continue under Tiffany Olson's leadership. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter of the Company's life with Tiffany at the helm of the Board of Directors. On behalf of Telix, I thank you for your ongoing support of the company as we work to achieve our mission of serving patients with cancer and rare diseases globally. I will now hand back to Kevin for the formal part of the meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Kevin.
Thank you very much, Chris. I think you've all been given a very comprehensive overview of where the Company's headed in 2025 and beyond. Now, we're moving to the formal part of the meeting, and the notice of meeting outlines all the items to be dealt with today. I confirm that I hold all available undirected proxies and will vote those in favor of each resolution. The Board recommends that the shareholders vote in favor of each resolution, with the Board abstaining from voting on resolutions in which they have an interest. When I invite people from the room to participate with questions, I'd appreciate it if you give me your name. If you're from an institution, your institution, if you're a retail shareholder, name will suffice. Okay.
The first item of business is the tabling of the financial report and other formal reports for the 2024 financial year, which have been made available to you. This item of business does not require shareholder approval, but it does give you the opportunity to ask questions about the reports and the management of the company. I'd now invite shareholders and proxies to ask any questions. We also have Mr. Brad Peek from PwC to ask any questions relating to the audit. Ladies and gentlemen, any questions?
These general questions?
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. I'll call.
Look, we'll get you a mic.
Thank you. My name is Mary Curran. I'm a personal shareholder and also in my super fund. First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming here today, especially our overseas guests. Really sorry about the Sydney rain and train.
We'll try and do better next time. I just wanted to question a little bit about the Trump tariffs and what, if anything, has it affected your planning, with particular emphasis on where you're going to manufacture, what countries with respect to jurisdictions, and how do you see that panning out? For example, you mentioned you've got a new product, the glioblastoma. Of the tariffs, would you be more likely then to have the manufacturing in the U.S. or in countries that have less tariffs? Yeah, more of a forward question, just seeing how you're tackling it, really.
Thank you for a very good question. I'll invite—we have given that some deep consideration. Chris, would you like to respond?
Probably three brief components to your questions to answer your question.
First of all, we have put out a public disclosure on the financial impact of tariffs to our current commercial business, which at this time is non-material. We certainly have done the analysis. Obviously, it's a moving target, right? On a daily basis, I think you wake up and there's some new information. That's how it is at present. The second thing is radio pharma is a bit unusual. It's not quite like the rest of pharma where we can make a bunch of blister packs in a factory somewhere and then ship them globally. To reinforce that, when we make Illuccix, for example, from the time that we make it radioactive, and that's really the manufacturing step, we have about two hours to get it to a patient and get a patient dosed.
We are not afforded the luxury of building kind of centralized global supply chains. That inherently means that the pricing structure and the delivery model in every country is very different. The U.S. has a completely distinct delivery model. We deliver hot doses. There is no business model in the U.S. for delivering a precursor or a pharmaceutical ingredient. It has a very distinct pricing and reimbursement landscape, and it is not replicated anywhere else in the world. Building comparative benchmarks to the rest of the world does not apply to the way in which we conduct business in the United States for the most part. The third thing is, a bit unusually for our business, we suffered a lot during COVID trying to get the supply chains up and running for the United States from outside of the United States.
In the end, we sort of capitulated and moved manufacturing to the U.S. To the extent that we have a major commercial product in the U.S., we typically manufacture it in the U.S. for the major, including the precursors and the packaging of drug product. We tend to manufacture that in the U.S. I hope that sort of answers your question. It's partially the unique nature of the products that we make that are very localized and partially just a convenience factor that when you're servicing, and I think it's well understood by shareholders that the majority of our revenue comes from the U.S. If you're servicing the major market, you really do need to be in that major market. I think politically, perhaps more than ever.
In one way, the COVID did you a bit of a favor by making you sort of set up there in some respects?
Yeah, it was a real heart. I mean, many companies, including ourselves, almost didn't kind of survive that era. I do think that the ones that made it out the other end came out stronger for it. Not sure the psyche of the CEOs came out stronger from that period, but certainly the companies understood. I mean, we just couldn't move products around. We couldn't run clinical trials. We couldn't get things across borders. We couldn't source isotopes. We learned in real terms what would have been a war game in a risk management exercise. We actually got to experience it in real life.
I think that does prepare us for some of the challenges that we have going forward as a company.
Thank you very much. I also meant to thank Mr. McCann earlier for his service and to may he continue to be a shareholder.
Thank you very much. Are there any other questions that people would like to ask? Okay. If not.
Sorry. Online operator, are there any questions? Online operator, are there any questions?
Who's lost the magic lady in the sky?
Online operator, are there any questions?
Okay. We've got another question from the floor.
All right.
The hardest to position is rather vulgar. When are we going to get some dividends? Is it possible?
I'm not going to agree with you that it's a vulgar question because that would also be vulgar.
I think that we've stated very clearly that the Company takes the view that reinvestment of our earnings into the growth of the business is the place where we see the greatest opportunity for shareholder value creation. I think we've really demonstrated that over the last few years. Paying out a few cents here and there is not going to move the needle for the vast majority of, well, it's not going to move the needle for anybody. I would say, at least while I'm the CEO of the Company, if you see us paying out a dividend, it means that we've run out of ideas.
All right. Okay. I think a lot of people were thinking that, but at least I was silly enough to ask.
No, no. It's a great question. Believe it or not, you're a very brave private investor.
I get asked the same vulgar question by institutional shareholders every day. You're not alone, I assure you. Good question, and I hope you can tolerate my chiding.
Okay. Are there any—yeah, we've got another question here in the front.
Thank you. My name is Wayne Arthur. I saw on the map there were lots of blue dots, but I saw a new green dot, which is obviously in China. This is more a comment than a question. I hope you will be taking significant steps to ensure the confidentiality of Telix's intellectual property so that it doesn't get stolen.
Yeah. It's not a new dot. It's been there since 2020. We have a very valued relationship with China Grand Pharma, which is a Hong Kong-listed company.
Great partner, very recognizable as a, I sort of shirk to use the expression, a Western-style pharmaceutical company in the way in which they operate and their governance principles. We also have a partnership with ARTO Pharma in Brazil, which is a publicly traded company as well. I think China as a biotechnology landscape has changed dramatically over the last decade to the point where I think it will usurp many parts of the world in its dominance in biotechnology. That has really been achieved by growing and respecting intellectual property, building international partnerships. There was an announcement just this morning that Pfizer paid $1.2 billion for an asset from a small Chinese startup company. I think that the world is changing. We feel really comfortable with the partnership.
We are running four clinical trials, I believe, in China at the moment, I think quite successfully because we have a partner. The certain nuances of the Chinese healthcare and commercial landscape mean that we really can't operate in that market unless we have a partner. I think it's been a really added value relationship. Obviously, we're vigilant about the sorts of issues that you mentioned, but it hasn't really been a facet of our commercial experience in China to date.
Right. Any other questions? Yes, another question here. Can we have the mic down?
No, I think we need a mic down the front.
Thank you very much. Andrew Studer, retail shareholder. I'm trying to find a nice way of saying this.
Is there any concern at all about an increase in risk to the current balance of where the revenue comes from, particularly on the American side? Are you comfortable going forwards that the way that revenues are handled is likely to continue as it is and that there should be no sort of ground moving underneath the projections that you've made so far?
Obviously, if there was a basis for our forecast becoming unsustainable, we would have to disclose that as a matter of our continuous disclosure obligations. I think a lot of shareholders, I mean, clearly, I think everyone understands when you become dual-listed, being a Nasdaq-listed company is a much, much higher compliance burden. We're definitely on a steep learning curve. We get certain concessions in our first 12 months of being a U.S.-listed company because of our market cap, but those go away very quickly.
The SEC is a much harder taskmaster than ASIC is. I shouldn't say that. It's probably taunting ASIC, and I don't mean to do that. It's definitely a learning curve for the company. Even though we're dual-listed, the obligation to comply with our continuous disclosure obligations does not go away. Shareholders can be confident that if there was an underlying material change to the business, we would disclose it promptly.
Right. Yes.
Could you give us a bit more insight into the FDA and Pixclara approval, the definition of what might happen over the next few months to get approval? With the looming August 26th date, how is the FDA actually operating at the moment with Telix? Sorry. In Australia, when would we see Illuccix in every major city?
Illuccix is available widely in Australia.
Just because it's available doesn't mean that people prescribe it. There are a number of choices available in Australia that are both commercial and non-commercial in nature. Australia's got a little bit of an unusual regulatory environment. Public hospitals are still allowed to practice a physician-led practice of medicine, which means they don't have to rely on commercial products. Australia is a bit of an unusual market, and I think most people in the room that are locals would know that we have a fairly dysfunctional healthcare system when it comes to product reimbursement. There are a whole lot of bigger issues around new product rollout generally in the pharmaceutical industry in Australia. I've commented on that in other forums, and I think perhaps it's best left to other forums and an AGM.
I think regarding your questions, our interactions with the FDA are confidential and are not public domain. We do not tend to comment on the nature of our interactions with the FDA until we hit certain review milestones, which may prompt public disclosure, as it did in the case of Pixclara. There is no doubt it is in the public domain that the FDA is going through a lot of changes right now, major organizational leadership changes. Whenever there is change, it obviously impacts the way that things are done. So far, it is a highly engaged interaction. We continue to prosecute our product activities. We continue to engage fruitfully with them on Pixclara remediation. I have every confidence that we will get that product over the line. It is just going to take a little bit more time. I just want to make a comment.
Drug development is not a linear process ever. About a third of all companies that ever take a drug to market get a complete response letter at some stage in the development process. Whilst we studiously prefer not to have those events happen, we'd like to be the better end of that statistic that doesn't have to deal with these things. These things are fairly common. They don't represent a termination of a process. They represent an interruption of a process. We know that this product is approvable. We know that the clinical data supports approval. It's just about getting the regulator over the line.
Okay. What about trying some people online? What have we got?
Do we have anything?
No. We do not have any questions online at this stage.
I will read out some questions that we have received through the online port. The first question is, and this is for you, Kevin, as Chairman. The Telix website says that you served as Chairman of Macquarie Group and Macquarie Bank from December 1996 to March 2016. This was your entire period on those boards, and you were not appointed to Chair until March 2011. On a less nitpicking note, well done, Kevin, for your performance as Telix Chair. Could you please comment on the three best decisions the board has made during your time as Chair?
That is a question without notice. Look, I will answer my own question. I think there were three things I did right here. One was accepting Chris's invitation to join the Board. No one could envisage the spectacular success of the Company.
I think the second Board decision that was a good one was the acquisition of a small company in Belgium called ANMI, which was really very important for our PSMA development. That was a good decision. The decision really last year or perhaps slightly before where our CEO said, "We have to integrate. We've got to protect our supply chain." That has been so important in the United States where global supply chains have been disrupted. We now have a very solid supply chain in the United States, which Chris has been through, which puts us in a very good position in relation to tariffs and also the current administration's desire to have manufacturing come back to the United States. We're there. Thanks for the question.
We have a few more online questions.
The next one is, "Selective briefings of the AFR Street Talk column happens too often in our public markets." On February 26th at 5:15 P.M., Street Talk revealed JP Morgan was selling $120 million worth of shares for our CEO, Chris Behrenbruch, and Co-Founder Andreas Kluge. This was only nine minutes after the ASX was informed of the CEO's agreement to sell 2 million shares, but our announcement was silent on the CEO's deal to jointly sell with the Co-Founder, who was only retired from our Board last October. Why didn't we announce this rather than using Street Talk?
I think I can respond to that. The article in the AFR was published at 5:15 P.M. on February 26th. We made a voluntary announcement to the ASX advising the intended share sale prior to publication of the article.
We had no engagement with journalists at the AFR Street Talk. I think the actions we took were absolutely appropriate because, of course, shareholders are interested to know why two of the founders had engaged in a block trade. We gave a very clear explanation for both sales.
Yeah. We do not do selective briefings to journalists ever. In the, I do not know, few minutes that it would have taken from the time of the lodgement of the voluntary notice to the time that it was picked up by the AFR, I think most people understand now. Even my 13-year-old son understands we have bots and AI and things that can scrape a disclosure and turn it into a news blast pretty quickly. I do not think there is too much magic to it.
Yep. Next.
Okay. We have another question. It is, "Good morning.
My name is Mike Suhl, and I'm a volunteer for the Australian Shareholders Association, representing 23 proxies for over 100,000 shares. Mr. Chair, congratulations on a great year. Can you please explain why the Company chose a convertible bond for capital raising rather than a share purchase plan?
Yeah. The convertible bond was an extremely attractive way to raise capital. As you know, with convertible bonds, they have a very low interest rate, and then they can be converted into equity at a higher price. At the time that occurred, and still, the bonds very quickly became ahead of the premium purchase price. That was a very successful capital raise. When we form a view as to how we're going to raise equity, historically, we've had placements. If we have placements, we have, in recent times, offered retail shareholders the opportunity to participate.
In the occasion we did that, the placement price was $ 7.70. The shares went down to $ 3.50, and we formed the view that no one was going to take up shares at that price. We terminated the arrangement. In the future, I'm sure that would be taken into account.
I mean, maybe if I can just add two comments. First of all, now that we're a commercial-stage company, we have earnings, and we operate in a financial environment where WAC is back. It does make sense for us to think about the relative cost of capital, and equity capital is very expensive. I think that if you look at the financial terms around the debt, the convertible bond is a form of debt. The cost of that capital is extremely low, and we can service it very reasonably out of our commercial operations.
I think the second thing is, I think everybody appreciates that we pulled the plug on a Nasdaq listing, which was supposed to be a liquidity-forming event for the U.S. market, for U.S. shareholders. When we decided to pull the plug on that, we did make the decision to go ahead and do a list and to sort of timestamp our presence in the U.S. market. It is also logistically an awkward time to do an equity raise. We felt that doing an equity capital raise added complexity and risk that was just unnecessary given the cost of capital of the convertible bond. It was the best-performing CB in Asia-Pac in 2024. It was an amazing uptake. I mean, a very large multiple oversubscribed. As I said, it's continued to perform well.
I think the market has spoken in terms of the appropriateness of that decision.
Thanks, Chris. Anything more?
Yeah. We have a few more questions. The next one is, "Australia is in the midst of an unprecedented deluge of takeovers that has contributed to listed entities on the ASX dropping in 26 of the past 27 months for a net reduction of 211 or 9.2% to 2,083 on April 30. There were a record 29 major takeovers above $200 million completed in 2024. Does the outgoing Chair agree this is a problem for the nation, particularly with so few new major floats? And do we have any takeover protections apart from FIRB and the ACCC? What are Christian's views on these matters?"
I don't mind answering the question. I mean, we obviously have the normal takeover protections of a Company of our status and listed status.
I think that we obviously don't comment on what our inbound M&A landscape looks like. That wouldn't be appropriate. I don't know if it's a deluge. There has been a number of companies, I think, that have had successful exits that were a long time in the making. I think at the end of the day, I don't see any trend. I'd prefer not to comment on the political implications of that trend. I don't think it's relevant to the forum.
Any other thing I'd add, Chris, is that the Board would always look at the best interests of shareholders and ensure that they're protected and that whatever premium was offered was appropriate. It becomes a matter for the shareholders to determine whether they wish to accept or not.
Agreed.
Okay. We have two more questions currently.
The first one of the last two are, "How do you view competition from advances in immunotherapy in the last few years for cancer treatments?"
Our Chief Medical Officer would probably have a more nuanced answer to that question than me. In short, they're very synergistic. Actually, radiotherapies are immunotherapies. When we irradiate patients, we are typically doing two things. We are modifying the tumor microenvironment, including the immune cells that are present in the tumor. We are usually directing the immune system towards the cancer. It's kind of a one-two punch. We actually have a number of clinical trials and preclinical studies running as well where we are studying the combination utilization of radiopharma and immunotherapies. We sort of think about radiotherapies as a platform for immunotherapy. It's a substrate to immunotherapy.
We think that in maybe 10 years from now, and this is, of course, very forward-looking, crystal ball gazing sort of stuff, but I think 10 years from now, we'll look back and realize that this was the beginning of something which is about driving the complete response rate. Across all immunotherapies in cancer, the complete response rate still is somewhere between 5% and 10%. Complete response meaning kind of a curative outcome. It is still pretty low. We have a super long way to go in cancer. I think combining the two modalities together will have big impact.
Thanks, Chris.
Okay. We have one final question for this section. I think, Chris, you've partly answered this already, but I will read it out. "No mention of Australia in your summaries.
Can you give us a brief update on the extent to which Chris is operating in Australia? Sorry, which Telix is operating in Australia? Are there trials? Is it in general use for prostate cancer?
Australia is not commercially that significant a market for our products. At this point in time, you can see that in our financial disclosures. However, Australia is still strategically very important to the Company. We typically open trials here first because it has a relatively user-friendly regulatory landscape in the way that ethics and institutional approvals for running clinical trials are run. We like running trials in Australia because we have access to incredible key opinion leaders here. Most people do not believe me when I say it, but Australia is one of the absolute world-leading countries in nuclear medicine. Richard, for example, is not here just for an AGM this week.
He's here going around and touring clinical sites. That's important enough for him to get out of his chair in Geneva and come down under. Really strategically important. I would say, without sounding like it's too much of a policy, we would be very reluctant to open a global clinical trial and not make that trial accessible to Australians given the importance of the domestic market and the key opinion leaders here to the creation and the success of the Company. Clinical trials are an important part of delivering healthcare outcomes. We want to continue to deliver those healthcare outcomes whilst we're developing our products. It's a really important obligation and responsibility of pharmaceutical companies to do that. Australia is important. Just because it's kind of a rounding error in our revenues right now doesn't mean that it doesn't factor into the Company's strategy.
Yep. Thanks, Chris.
There are no more further general questions at this time.
We move to.
I think this lady has. Yeah.
It's a bit about how long is a piece of string, but I'm going to ask it. How long is a piece of string, but I'll still ask it. How user-friendly is Nasdaq with the product? How long do you think it'll be before it's cleared and that? Because I've been stuck with another pharmaceutical product, and it's not going anywhere. I can't sell it. I can't do anything with it because of a similar problem.
I'm not sure I fully understand. Are you asking me what's the timeline for remediation of the product that we've had an interruption on?
Yes.
We've given guidance on that. We expect that we'll be able to remediate the package and continue the submission this year.
Oh, this year. Okay.
This year. Yeah.
All right. Good. Thank you.
Yeah. The FDA gave us no. I think you meant the FDA, not Nasdaq. The FDA gave us a clear bill of health on most aspects of the package, except for we have a disagreement about the analysis of the clinical data. That is what we are in the process of remediating right now.
Oh, good. I can sleep tonight. Thank you.
Good. With that question, we will now move on to item number two, which is to adopt the 2024 remuneration report. This report was included in the annual report. I will just make some comments about our remuneration policy. To deliver our purpose, we need to have strong global talent to oversee and execute our strategic and business objectives.
Our remuneration framework, which we had in 2024, was aligned with the Mercer Group and independent benchmark data to enable us to attract, retain, and engage talent in a globally competitive market. We have a policy or our framework is focused on driving a performance culture. That's done, as we've disclosed in the Executive report. We have a fixed remuneration, but a very important emphasis on remuneration at risk, including a proportion of short-term variable remuneration, which is paid as deferred equity. For 2024, it was 25% in deferred equity. In 2024, it was 25%. In 2025, it's going to be 50%. The long-term variable remuneration is measured over three years' performance, where we have challenging but attainable performance metrics so that the reward for the Executives is also aligned with the growth of the company, and that's aligned with shareholder value.
Now, the NED remuneration is also the subject of independent benchmark data with no performance-based remuneration. I'll go into more detail about the NED remuneration and particularly the increase for 2025 when we get to item six. Although this is an advisory vote and will not bind the Directors of the company, the Board will take into account the outcome of the vote and any comments that we may have from shareholders. I'll draw your attention to the proxy voting. Could you put that on the screen? Yes. As you will see, there has been considerable support for the report. Open for questions, ladies and gentlemen from the floor. Yes.
Thank you. It's Mary Curran again. Yeah. No problem with the NED remuneration. For the Executive remuneration, it's actually 30 pages long. It goes from page 62 - 92 in the annual report.
It's a massive read. The statutory remuneration's on page 88, but nowhere in the annual report can I find an actual remuneration. Now, given you're a top 100 company, I think it's prudent that you should be publishing an annual remuneration alongside the statutory remuneration. Normally, the difference would be in the expense cost of the shares versus what the actual share value is on the CEO receiving, say.
Okay. Could you just clarify what you think are the shortcomings of?
The shortcomings, I can't actually know because there's no actual remuneration report as such, no table. The table is what's called the statutory table. That's on page 88. There is no actual remuneration. What happens is the statutory remuneration is you have to have that, right? That's the way you expense the shares per se.
What I'm suggesting to you is that the value of the shares when they're expensed may be a very different outcome when the CEO actually receives them. What I'm asking for is an actual remuneration. Are you with me?
Yeah. That has been raised with us.
I can respond if you like. I can respond if you like to.
Yeah.
Yeah. I think, yes, that has been raised with us just recently as part of our pre-AGM engagement meetings. It is something that we will take into account for further remuneration reporting. We do have disclosures within the REM report currently relating to the actual REM, but it's in different tables. Yeah, do appreciate your feedback, and we will take that into account.
Yeah. Would really help. The 30 pages is a bit of a nightmare.
Just the same table, even on the same page, is really good. So you have the statutory and then below the actual. And I do not think anyone's complaining about the quantums, but I think it would be easy if we could see them.
Yeah. Appreciate it.
The other thing we have agreed to address is that in our effort to be very transparent, it is a long report. And so there is a consideration for perhaps a summary, which is easier to follow for retail shareholders.
That would certainly make it more shareholder-friendly. Just going back to that, so next year, will it all be in USD, including the REM?
Yes.
Right. So can you make sure you do state that it is USD at the top of all the tables? Thank you.
Thank you for that question. Any other questions? Right. If there are no further questions, anything online?
I think you just found your proofreader of an AGM.
Yeah. No, there are no online operator questions, but there are a couple of written questions.
Okay. Let's get the written questions.
The first one is, which of the five main proxy advisors, AXI, Ownership Matters, CGI, Glass Lewis, ISS, and ASA, covered us this year and did any recommend a vote against any of today's 13 resolutions?
Look, we included.
A vote, including this opening remuneration report item.
Proxy advisors give advice to their clients. They're confidential, and we don't comment on proxy outcom es.
Okay. There's one—no, I think that might be the last question on that item.
Okay. In that case, we now complete that item, and we'll turn to item three relating to reelection and election of Directors. The first Director for reelection is Tiffany Olson.
I mentioned earlier in my address that she brings a depth of experience to the commercialization and corporate strategy in oncology, including the radiopharma sector. Also, at the conclusion of today's AGM, the Board is delighted that she's agreed to take office as Chairman of our Board. She's based in Indiana, where our U.S. head office is located and where the majority of our business is conducted. Most of our employees, I think it's something like 80%, reside in the United States. Important regulators, including the FDA and the Securities Exchange Commission, are based in the United States. It is important to have someone of Tiffany's calibre on the ground.
The Board completely supports the view that, given the importance of the United States to Telix, not only in terms of regulatory approval, but also the importance of the market and the fact that that market has become more complex with the arrival of a new administration, it is very important to have a leader of the Board who is in the jurisdiction. Her details of qualifications are set out in the notice. I'd like you, Tiffany, to briefly speak to your nomination.
Thank you, Kevin. For the past three years, I feel very thankful that I've been able to be a part of Telix and a part of this very mission-driven organization.
You will see that in the CEO, in the executive leadership team, in all of the employees, and on the Board, all of us working together to make sure that we are living the mission of making lives better for patients with cancer and rare diseases. My background has been in healthcare, most notably in both pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. I spent many years with Roche Diagnostics, had several positions, one being heading the U.S. molecular division. I also lived and worked internationally. I was responsible for global regulatory quality and market development. I then became CEO of Roche Diagnostics Corporation. I've also had an opportunity to work with Lilly and Company specifically on putting together their companion diagnostic strategy. I was also very involved in the Avid radiopharmaceutical acquisition, one of Lilly's first acquisitions into radiopharmaceuticals.
I then spent over eight years running Cardinal Health's nuclear and precision health solutions, the world's largest radiopharmacy network. My skill set is, of course, in Executive leadership strategy. I'm a domain expert within the radiopharmaceutical and nuclear area. Of course, my U.S. healthcare background and just my depth of U.S. experience, but also international experience. I sit on two other Nasdaq public companies, both in the healthcare space. My volunteer work is in oncology research. I volunteer for the Education and Research Foundation for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. I also volunteer for the American Cancer Society, specifically for a campaign for women raising funds for women-led oncology research. I am very excited to be able to continue with Telix.
I would like to ask for your support and your votes today, as I feel also very passionate about making sure that I work with this incredible team to help bring the mission that we have here at Telix to life. Thank you. Back to you, Kevin.
Thanks. Thanks very much, Tiffany. Now, any questions that shareholders would like to raise? Thank you. Anything in writing online?
Yes. There is one question online. This is for Tiffany. As a U.S.-based Director, could you please comment on your views about whether Telix should reheat last year's abandoned proposal to pursue a Nasdaq listing? Given that we moved to reporting in U.S. dollars, would you agree it does seem inevitable that the U.S. listing will come? How committed are you to maintaining the ASX as Telix's primary listing into the future?
We have no plans to move from the ASX.
We really value the relationship and all the shareholders and the trust that you have provided to us. Things change in the future. Should something happen where we look at that, we would absolutely come to the shareholders. It would be a shareholder vote, and that would be a discussion that we would have. We have no current plans to leave ASX. Again, we truly value all of your support and trust.
Thanks, Tiffany. Any further questions?
No, there are no further questions.
Would you like to put the proxy vote for us? Now, when you look at the voting there, I have been informed by Dr. Behrenbruch that he holds a proxy vote from our Co-Founder, Andreas Kluge. That increases the percentage of vote in favor of Tiffany's. Have you got the particular number?
Yeah. In fact, the vote after this will be about 97% in favor for Telix when you take into account the votes for the Chairman of the meeting and Chris's proxy for Andreas.
Okay. As you can see, the support, Tiffany, for you is overwhelming. Congratulations.
Thank you.
Okay. Let's move to the next election, which is Jann Skinner. Jann is one of the best Audit and Committee Chairs I've had the privilege of working with. She's absolutely across detail. She's across accounting standards, and she's a person with a very, very strong, rigorous approach to risk management. She's got the background as a former Auditor to actually fulfill this role, and she's also embraced the risks. Outside audit and risk, she's also a strong contributor to Board deliberations. Jann's qualifications are set out in the notice. Jann, would you like to say some words to the meeting?
Thanks, Kevin. I'm very pleased to present myself for reelection to the Board of Telix Pharmaceuticals. I originally joined your Board in 2018 and was reelected in May 2022. As Kevin mentioned, I serve as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, and I'm on the People Committee. I have over 30 years' professional experience in audit and accounting with a focus on financial services, particularly the insurance industry. I was an audit partner for 17 years with Coopers and Lybrand and then PricewaterhouseCoopers before I retired in 2004, which is almost over 20 years ago now. Time does fly. Since then, I've been appointed to a number of Non-Executive Director roles, mainly in financial services. In those roles, I've served as Chair of the Audit Committee. I'm Chair of Create Foundation Limited.
It's a not-for-profit which works to empower children and young people with an out-of-home care experience. Previously, I was a director of QBE Insurance Group and HSBC Bank Australia. I'd be very honored to continue to serve on the Board, and I look forward to working with our new chair, Tiffany Olson, and the CEO, Chris Behrenbruch, and the wider management team to assist Telix in achieving its purpose. I'd like to thank Kevin McCann for his leadership and guidance as chairman of Telix in the time that I've been on the Board. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Kevin. I would greatly appreciate your support for me to continue on the Telix Board. Thanks.
Thanks very much, Jann. Any comments or questions from the board shareholders about that reelection? If not, anything online?
No, there are no questions online and no written questions either.
Good. We have her proxy outcome. As in the case before, there is a proxy held by Chris, which, if voted, will take that vote up to somewhere around 97%. That is right. 97%. Congratulations, Jann.
Thanks.
Now we move to Marie McDonald. Marie is the Director who replaced me as Chair of the People Committee. I was delighted to give up that role. Being Chairman and Head of People and Culture and Remuneration was quite a heavy burden. Marie has the benefit of a science degree. She is an experienced Director in Life Science, and her roles there include CSL, one of Australia's largest pharmaceutical companies, probably, and also Nanosonics. She is also very experienced because of that in global remuneration, particularly in the United States. She understands the challenges in the present current competitive global landscape and the importance of attracting, retaining, and motivating talent to achieve our business.
Her contributions to Telix will be very important in this new growth phase. Details of her qualifications are set out in the notice of meeting. Marie, can I invite you to speak in support of your nomination?
Thank you, Chairman. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. When I first heard about Telix, I was very impressed by its purpose-led approach. You have heard that theme consistently this morning. I can say, in my short time on the Board, I have seen it is absolutely core to Telix to set that purpose-led focus on helping people with cancer live better and higher quality lives. It is a real privilege for me to be able to present myself for election today as a Director of your Company.
There's some information about me in the notice of meeting, but as the newest member on the Board, I'll say a little bit about my background and what I hope to bring to the Board of Telix. As Kevin mentioned, I initially studied science at university. It was chemistry. I spent my professional career as a lawyer, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, a little bit like Kevin as well. I worked a lot on cross-border transactions. That gave me significant expertise in public markets, regulatory policy, and compliance matters across a range of countries. After leaving legal practice, I became a Non-Executive Director of a number of companies, each of which has a Li fe Science and a purpose-led focus. Those companies have significant international operations, importantly including the U.S. and also Europe.
That has given me insights into the management of risk and people and safety in diverse locations. Telix is a fast-growing Company with a wealth of opportunity in front of it and the real ability to change the way cancers are detected and treated. I think that my combination of skills and experiences will be of value to Telix as it embarks on its next stage of growth, including in different geographies. This includes in my capacity as Chair of the People Committee, having recently assumed the role from Kevin. Although Kevin said I was replacing him, I do not think anyone is going to replace Kevin. I will do my best as Chair of the Committee. I can assure you that I have the time and the energy to devote to my role as a Director of Telix. I am asking for your support today to be elected as a Director.
If I am elected, I look forward to continuing to work with the Board and management to create long-term sustainable value for you, our shareholders, and importantly, for the patients and the physicians who depend on our products, as well as for our employees and the communities in which the company operates. Thank you very much.
Marie, thank you very much. I can say on behalf of all of us on the Board, we're delighted to have someone of your standing, reputation, and experience join us. I've already seen how Marie has actually grasped the role of remuneration and people and culture. I know she's going to be an outstanding addition to our Board. Now, I'll disclose the proxy votes. Again, we've got with Marie up to about 99%. Congratulations, Marie, on the support that you've got from shareholders.
That's really, really good to see. Right. Look, that now raises any—has anyone got any questions that they'd like to ask Marie? Yes.
I'm sorry, it's not actually about Marie. She sounds eminently qualified. Thank you for filling us in. I just wanted to ask with the next resolution that's not going to the meeting, the number D, does that mean then that you have a vacancy? If so, are there particular skills you'll be looking for? Or do you want to leave that question?
Yeah. It was obviously disappointing for personal reasons and decided that she couldn't take the role we elected her to. I know that my successor is—and the whole Board believes that we should have an additional Director, presumably based in the United States, with a pharma experience, maybe M&A experience, and maybe also a Nasdaq experience. That is going to be a priority.
Right. You are looking for someone, basically, Kevin. Okay. Thank you.
If there are no more further questions, anything online?
No, there are no online questions, including written questions.
Okay. I think you can see, shareholders, that we have thought—we have been thoughtful about the skills we want on the Board. You have three very talented people who are taking—certainly a wonderful choice for Chair and two other outstanding Directors as well. Okay. The next one relates to the grant of equity to the CEO. The ASX rules require shareholders to approve the grant of equity to directors. Item 4A relates to the issue of deferred share rights to Chris as the deferred component of his achieved 2024 short-term variable remuneration.
The strong performance for 2024 resulted in an outcome of 85% of STI for the CEO and downwards modified outcomes for other members of the KMP. You'll see the 25% of STI outcomes granted as deferred equity. There are no metrics for that deferred equity. The proportion of deferred—I mentioned that deferred equity will increase to 50% of the STI in 2025. We got the number of shares was in the notice of meeting. That's 2,595. It's a very small number of shares. That's required under the law if we want to apply the same rules to the CEO as we do to other Executives. What's the proxy votes on that? Okay. That's very strong support. Any questions? No? Okay. Anything online?
No, there's no questions online.
Okay. Thank you very much.
Now we move to the next one, which is the issue of performance share rights or PSARs to Chris as a long-term variable remuneration for 2025. The Board believes it's appropriate to award long-term incentive grants for achievement of a challenging but attainable performance metrics over a three-year period to ensure alignment between the long-term shareholder interests and the CEO's reward. The performance metrics include an adjusted EBITDA financial metric, which is the alternative performance measure that the Group uses to determine operational performance. We have product milestone metrics as well. The maximum long-term award that may be achieved is 150% of target if both financial stretch and product milestones are achieved. I'll just make an additional comment.
I have been questioned when I talk to shareholders, "Why are you giving a Founder who has a lot of shares more shares?" I explained that the way the RIM is organized, there is fixed remuneration and remuneration at risk. Chris has been extremely generous in not seeking to get to a remuneration that is appropriate for someone in his role. Now that we are a commercial company, he and the Board agree that he should be treated in the same way as a Non-Founder CEO. That is why we have the award of this equity. I will disclose now the votes. As you can see, quite significant support. There may be some questions which people have despite my presentation. Anything else anyone would like to discuss? Okay. Anything online?
N o, there are no questions.
Okay. Thank you.
Now, this next one is the shareholders approving U.S. laws and U.S. listing rules placement capacity. The U.S. share plan provides a beneficial way for Telix U.S. employees to invest in Telix American depository shares at a reasonable discounted price through payroll deductions. The maximum number of securities to be issued equates about 0.4% of concurrent shares on issue. Just to preempt questions, it's under American law, these are grants of shares. In Australia, if we buy shares on market, we don't have to get approval from shareholders to the Australian share plan. So there's going to be an Australian and an American share plan so that we can get participation by employees, which we think is very important. The voting is, gosh, 99.5%. Obviously, strong support from shareholders. If there's any queries from the room, please feel free to raise them. Okay. If there's none, anything online?
There's no online audio questions, but there is a question related to this resolution, but I'm not sure it's relevant just to this resolution. The question is, is there a potential for option contracts on Telix?
Is there a?
Is there a potential for option contracts on Telix?
No. Okay. Item six, the proposed increase in the maximum fee pool for NEDS. Shareholders last year approved a maximum pool of $ 1.35 million at last year's AGM. Over the past year, we've gone through transformational change, including international expansion of its business in the U.S., and we've become dual-listed in Nasdaq. In order to ensure that we can attract and retain high-caliber Directors, including those based in the U.S. to oversee our business, the remuneration must remain competitive. Now, in, for an increase in remuneration, which was aligned with executive KMP increases, which brought us to the market median.
Again, we relied upon the Mercer report. That report is a couple of years old, but we decided we would work with that. We needed to devise a process whereby we could meet the expectations of shareholders and NEDs domiciled in the U.S. The significant increase in remuneration means that the U.S. NEDs can take advantage of the increase to subscribe for shares in the Company. That also enables them to meet the new minimum shareholding policy, which is that you must have within three years holdings equal to your Director's fees. We brought that in because the historical Directors had significant holdings, and it wasn't necessary. Now we're recruiting new Directors. We think that's expected. What we have sought is another $ 450,000 to fund those fees.
Also, as I say, with the principal idea of allowing Directors to salary sacrifice and take up additional shares in the Company and canvassing my colleagues, that's a very attractive, tax-effective way of getting equity in the Company. I'll just disclose the tax proxy votes before I invite any questions. Thank you. Any questions, colleagues? Sorry, shareholders? Anything in writing?
No, there's nothing online.
Thank you. Item seven. Items seven, eight, and nine relate to the refreshment of a 15% placement capacity. In accordance with the ASX listing rules, following the issuance of consideration shares and contingent performance rights in respect of ImaginAb acquisition, which Chris discussed, our $650 million convertible bonds raise in July last year for the purposes of strategic acquisitions, particularly ImaginAb and RLS, and investment to accelerate key clinical development programs. We issued SCRIP. We issued SCRIP for two reasons.
One, it's attractive to vendors. Secondly, we want to preserve cash. We want to use the cash that we generate for the R&D that Chris referred to. I did get some questions. Are you diluting shareholders? The Board thinks very carefully about the amount of equity that gets paid to vendors. At a very high share price, it was a very attractive way of preserving cash. I can assure you that when there is an M&A transaction, there's very careful thought given to the amount of equity that would be provided versus cash and the impact it may have on shareholders. It's a right that we are very, very careful and, I think, thoughtful before we use that 15%. I think it is important if there are opportunities that we have the flexibility to have this available.
As I said, there are three transactions. The first one is the ImaginAb transaction. That was a transaction involving the acquisition of assets that are providing future pipeline opportunities. There were 2 million shares issued on closing, equal to AUD 50 million and $31 million. The proxy votes, Genevieve. Okay. That was really well supported. If there are any queries about this and the other two transactions, I'd be happy to respond. If there are no questions, anything online?
There's nothing online.
Thanks very much. Thank you, shareholders. This is the 3.9 million rights issued as part of consideration, reflecting up to a further $ 60 million payable for contingent earnouts in cash or shares. We have the right to do these, to pay cash or shares. It is a contingent consideration. It only applies if certain milestones, commercial milestones, have been reached.
They've all been covered in the notice of meeting in quite a lot of detail. I won't go into those. Because the ASX treats contingent consideration as usage of the 15%, we've come back to you to get refreshment. What's the status of that, Genevieve? Oh, very strong support. Any questions? If not, I'll go to the last one, which is the convertible bonds. We also, even though the conversion is, if it occurs at all, in the future, the ASX treats that as using up the 15% part of the 15% right. I won't go into all the details of those bonds. I think they've been well described. I'll look at the proxy votes there. Okay. Why were they?
Because I still hold a proxy.
Oh, okay. Dr. Behrenbruch has a proxy. If we add that, it's up to about 97%.
Okay. Any questions on that one? Okay. Thank you, shareholders. We move to what is the last resolution. This is the resolution that deals with proportional takeover bids. Now, they're quite rare nowadays because most companies take the view, and so do shareholders, that proportional bids can be very unfair because if someone gets control of the Company without paying, without also including the remaining shareholders, that means there may be a premium paid to one lot of shareholders, but not to shareholders for their entire holdings. What the legislation now provides is that if there is a proportionate bid for the Company or partial takeover bid, you have the right as shareholders. Before that bid can proceed, you have the right as shareholders to vote whether you want it to proceed or not.
The fact that you have this in your articles means that these proportionate bids have disappeared in Australia. We think it's strongly in the interest of shareholders that we refresh the provision. You have to refresh the provision in your constitution every three years. We have the three years up. I hope I've explained that to you successfully. If not, happy to answer any questions. What was the vote on that one? We also add the. We get up to 97%. Ladies and gentlemen, any further questions? Okay. In that case, anything online?
No, nothing online.
I think now, Company Secretary, we've reached the end of the resolution. I'll conclude by saying thank you for attending today. The Board would be very happy to have a chat with anyone who would like to talk to us.
You have got our Executive team on the front. You can identify them, and they would be happy to talk to you as well. Thank you for coming. Shareholders' meetings are important. I certainly appreciated the number of questions we had about the Company. When I declare the meeting closed, you will have a new Chairman. I now declare the meeting closed. How long have we got for?
There are five minutes for online.
Five minutes to fill in your proxies. Congratulations, Tiffany.
Oh, thank you, Kevin, for all you have done.