{"id":75076,"date":"2026-05-31T12:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/75076\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T12:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T12:24:16","slug":"novartis-experimental-actinium-based-drug-shows-promise-in-prostate-cancer-treatment-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/75076\/","title":{"rendered":"Novartis experimental actinium-based drug shows promise in prostate cancer treatment: Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Novartis<\/a> said on Sunday that early data from its experimental actinium-based drug<\/a> showed signs of anti-tumour activity against prostate cancer<\/a>, including in patients previously treated with its older drug Pluvicto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Data from a 101-patient \u200cstudy showed that \u206052.5% \u2060of those previously treated with Pluvicto saw levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, fall by at least half when treated \u200bwith the actinium-based drug. Elevated PSA level is a common marker for prostate cancer.
Response rates were higher in \u200bprostate cancer patients who had not received Pluvicto. More than 85% of patients in the trial who had no prior treatment and 58.8% of those who received chemotherapy first had PSA levels \u200bfall by half, according to data presented at the American \u2060Society of \u200cClinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Molecule glue drugs shake up cancer care, draw big money<\/a><\/p>\n

TD Cowen analysts said the early data suggest \u200bclear efficacy, but cautioned \u200bthat managing side effects, particularly high rates of dry mouth and severe \u2060anemia, will be crucial.<\/p>\n

\"ETLive Events
Novartis<\/a> Chief Medical Officer Shreeram Aradhye said larger trials will be needed to fully assess the severity and reversibility of those side effects, especially if the drug is used in earlier lines of treatment.
The Swiss drugmaker is deepening its bet on radioligand therapies that deliver radiation directly to cancer cells, and is moving ahead with two late-stage studies of the experimental drug. Radioligand therapies now account for nearly 40% of Novartis’ cancer R&D investments, Aradhye said.Also Read: Wockhardt secures US FDA approval for antibiotic Zaynich<\/a><\/p>\n

The company already sells Pluvicto and \u200cLutathera, which brought in a combined $2.8 billion last year.<\/p>\n

Radiopharma is a fast-growing area of cancer treatment. Eli Lilly<\/a>, Bristol Myers Squibb, Bayer and AstraZeneca<\/a> have all acquired radio-drug developers in recent years.<\/p>\n

The therapies link \u2060a radioactive isotope to a molecule designed to seek out cancer-cell targets. While Pluvicto uses lutetium-177, a beta-emitting isotope, the experimental drug uses actinium-225, an alpha emitter.<\/p>\n

“The difference is that much higher \u200bamounts of energy (are) delivered across a much smaller distance, and the potential for greater efficacy,” Aradhye said.<\/p>\n

Some analysts have warned that the current actinium-225 supply is insufficient for growing clinical demand, though newer production efforts could ease constraints.<\/p>\n

Aradhye said Novartis is already planning around future isotope needs. In February, the company entered into a long-term supply agreement for actinium with U.S.-based medical isotope producer Niowave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Novartis said on Sunday that early data from its experimental actinium-based drug showed signs of anti-tumour activity against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75077,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[127],"tags":[39443,14607,39444,216,206,39441,31818,4117,39445,39442],"class_list":["post-75076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-novartis","tag-actinium-based-drug","tag-astrazeneca","tag-clinical-oncology","tag-eli-lilly","tag-novartis","tag-novartis-drug","tag-pluvicto","tag-prostate-cancer","tag-prostate-cancer-drug","tag-prostate-cancer-treatment"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116669177212552792","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}