Prime Highlights
- Over 85% of previously untreated patients recorded a significant drop in cancer marker levels.
- Aradhye said larger trials are needed to assess side effect severity and reversibility fully.
Key Facts
- Novartis is a Swiss pharmaceutical company with radioligand therapies making up nearly 40% of its cancer research investments.
- Pluvicto and Lutathera, its two existing radioligand drugs, jointly generated $2.8 billion in revenue last year.
Background
Novartis has revealed early data from its experimental actinium-based drug, showing meaningful anti-tumour activity in prostate cancer patients, including those who had already received its existing treatment, Pluvicto.
Results from a 101-patient study showed that more than half of patients previously treated with Pluvicto recorded a drop of at least 50% in prostate-specific antigen levels, a widely used marker for prostate cancer. Response rates climbed further among patients with no prior treatment, where over 85% achieved the same threshold. Among those who had first undergone chemotherapy, the figure stood at 58.8%.
The data were presented at a major clinical oncology gathering in Chicago. Analysts noted the results point to clear effectiveness but flagged that managing side effects, particularly dry mouth and severe anaemia, would be critical to the drug’s broader success.
Novartis Chief Medical Officer Shreeram Aradhye said the company would need larger trials to better understand how serious and reversible those side effects are, especially if the drug moves into earlier stages of treatment. Novartis is already advancing two late-stage studies of the experimental therapy.
The Swiss pharmaceutical company has been steadily expanding its focus on radioligand therapies, which deliver radiation directly to cancer cells. These treatments now represent nearly 40% of Novartis’ cancer research spending. Its existing radioligand drugs, Pluvicto and Lutathera, together generated $2.8 billion in revenue last year.
The new drug uses actinium-225, an alpha-emitting isotope that delivers higher energy across a shorter distance than the lutetium-177 used in Pluvicto, potentially offering greater cancer-killing power. To secure future supply, Novartis signed a long-term agreement with US-based isotope producer Niowave earlier this year.
