Novartis announced the construction of two new radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facilities in the U.S. with the goal of developing a more robust infrastructure to support the expanding use of RLTs to treat cancer.
Novartis broke ground on a new facility at its Indianapolis site that will produce radioisotopes critical for the manufacturing of RLTs. The second site, located in Carlsbad, California, will focus on RLT manufacturing. According to the drugmaker, it will create manufacturing resiliency and optimize the delivery of medicines to patients on the West Coast.
Both facilities will be built with room for further expansion to enable the potential production of different isotopes, ligands and RLTs.
Novaris is a leader in the still emerging radiopharma space. Earlier this year, the drugmaker acquired Massachusetts-based Mariana Oncology, picking up a pipeline of novel radioligand therapies to treat cancers with high unmet need. Per the deal, Novartis made an upfront payment of $1 billion and will hand over an additional $750 million in payments upon completion of pre-specified milestones.
Novartis already has two approved radiopharma drugs, Pluvicto and Lutathera. Lutathera was approved in 2018 to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). The therapy recently won a pediatric approval in somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs. Pluvicto was approved in 2022 for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
