Radiation, damaging UV rays, and chemical exposure are just a few of the hazards that can lead to cancer. But soon, there might be an unexpected cure for what ails us — radioactive material. As contradictory as that sounds, it’s actually a concept as old as chemotherapy.

Taking aim: In 2018, NovartisNVS

launched a quiet revolution in cancer treatments with the approval of Lutathera, an IV radiation therapy targeting rare tumors. This drug was one of the first from a major pharmaceutical company in a relatively unexplored class of drugs called radiopharmaceuticals, which use radioactive material to treat cancer. While once considered too challenging to manufacture and administer due to the short half-life of radioactive materials, nuclear medicine is now gaining attention in the pharma industry.

• The leading European pharma giant’s breakthrough therapy, Lutathera, reduced patient deaths by 72%, while Plucvicto, another nuclear medicine approved in 2022 for prostate cancer, cut the risk of disease progression by 59%.
• The two drugs have become surprising successes for the Swiss-based healthcare powerhouse, with analysts predicting that both drugs could generate a combined $4B in sales by 2027.

Stealing A Page Out of A Radioactive Book

Novartis’s financial success has encouraged other pharmaceutical giants to invest in this up-and-coming drug class. This could soon lead to radiopharmaceutical treatments for more common cancers, not just rare ones.

• Big players like Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY
  , AstraZenecaAZN
  , and Eli LillyLLY
  have recently racked up major deals for radiopharma companies — with the industry spending over $10B so far.
• Guggenheim Securities’ Michael Schmidt estimates that the sector could generate at least $5B in annual revenue — and potentially “tens of billions” if applied to more mainstream cancers.

Challenges ahead: While the potential of radioactive drug therapies is undeniable, there are still significant hurdles in bringing the new drugs to market. Manufacturing, transporting, and administering these drugs is complex. Most treatments require a repository of radioactive material and must be made to order — and then shipped (or, in some cases, driven) to be administered as soon as possible. Not all healthcare providers have the capacity to handle these drugs, as they require special certifications. When you’re in the Wild West of medicine, it turns out, there’s still a lot to do.