Radiopharmaceuticals could soon get their first blockbuster
Pluvicto’s steep launch appears on track to surpass $1B in sales this year
Precious few targeted radiopharmaceuticals have reached the commercial market, but the future looks bright for the treatment modality as companies big and small place big bets on next-generation technologies. This year, the therapeutic class appears set to get its first blockbuster drug, assuming the launch of Novartis’ Pluvicto continues its steep rise.
Novartis AG (SIX:NOVN; NYSE:NVS), an early mover in radiopharmaceuticals, completed its $3.9 billion takeout of Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A. in January 2018, the same month FDA approved the biotech’s Lutathera 177Lu-Dotatate to treat somatostatin receptor-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NET). The European Commission approved the radiotherapy in 2017. Since then, Lutathera has brought in $2.6 billion in sales. ...