Market Growth: Radiopharmaceuticals
The global radiopharmaceuticals market has experienced significant growth in recent years and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.50% from 2023 to 2031 to achieve a value of $9.53 billion USD by 2031 according to this report. The development of novel radiopharmaceuticals, expansion of therapeutic applications, and growing investments in research and development have contributed to the market's expansion.
Radiopharmaceuticals, or targeted radiation drugs, are a class of precision oncology medicines poised to transform the treatment of solid tumors. They pair a radioactive isotope capable of destroying cells with a compound that can home in on specific tumor proteins, sparing healthy tissue. As opposed to traditional radiation therapy that destroys cancer and healthy cells. By hitching a radioisotope to a small molecule, these potent therapies can selectively deliver the proven power of radiation directly to tumors throughout the body.
You may have noticed there has been a lot of buzz around the radiopharmaceutical market in the biotech industry this year. Abdera Therapeutics debuted in April 2023 with a $142 million Series A/B raise, Convergent Therapeutics, Inc. closed a $90 million Series A in May 2023, Mariana Oncology pulled an oversubscribed $175 million Series B financing in September 2023, and this month Nucleus RadioPharma took home $56 million in a Series A round. Not to mention, RayzeBio brought in $311 million in proceeds from the second largest IPO for a biotech this year. And for the grand finale, 礼来 bought into the radiopharmaceutical space earlier this month with the $1.4 billion acquisition of POINT Biopharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company .?
What’s all the buzz about?
Recent technical advancements, regulatory approvals, and interest from major pharmaceutical companies have revitalized the radiopharmaceutical field, prompting venture investors to support new startups. In the case of radiopharmaceuticals, newer drugs are showing improved performance, with studies, including those involving Pluvicto, demonstrating their ability to extend patient survival and sometimes surpass other treatment options. Physicians from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have recognized radiopharmaceuticals as an effective, safe, and economically viable treatment modality.
Major pharmaceutical investments have ignited a chain reaction of activity in the radiopharmaceutical sector. Companies like 诺华 , 拜耳 , and Lantheus Holdings have made acquisitions and developed radiopharmaceuticals, such as Lutathera, Pluvicto, Xofigo, and Azedra. These developments, combined with advances in radiochemistry and increased innovation in complex therapeutic modalities, have led to a surge in investments in new radiopharmaceutical companies.
Some of these companies, like Fusion Pharmaceuticals and RayzeBio, are targeting the same disease targets as Pluvicto and Lutathera but with different radioactive components or guiding molecules. Others are focusing on various cancer-associated proteins, such as Abdera Therapeutics, which is developing a program for DLL3, a challenging-to-treat form of lung cancer, and Precirix, which is evaluating a radiopharmaceutical for tumors driven by the HER2 cancer gene.
Big Pharma is paving the way for Radiopharmaceutical growth
Novartis has been hot on the radiopharma scene since 2017, touting radiopharmaceuticals as a large part of its cancer strategy long before the biotech buzz. Having spent $6 billion on acquisitions of Endocyte (2018) and Advanced Accelerator Applications (2017), Novartis is certainly the most invested. Through those acquisitions, Novartis brought radiopharmaceuticals, Lutethera and Pluvicto to market. Pluvicto is a radioisotope known as lutetium that is chemically fused to a small molecule that binds to PSMA, a protein overexpressed in most prostate cancers. Lutathera delivers radioactive lutetium to SSTR, a target found on certain neuroendocrine tumors.
Novartis also inked deals earlier this year with 3B Pharmaceuticals GmbH to license their cancer-targeting radiotherapy tech and Bicycle Therapeutics to develop their radio-conjugates for multiple oncology targets. Right alongside Novartis is Bayer, which has also brought a radiopharmaceutical to market, Xofigo for the treatment of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer, and is testing others. Bayer reached close to $500 million in peak yearly sales with Xofigo.
Novartis recently unveiled the results of the Pluvicto phase 3 PSMAfore trial at the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology Congress. The data presented was remarkably impressive, as it demonstrated that Pluvicto reduced the risk of disease progression or mortality by 57% when compared to a change in androgen receptor inhibitor treatment. This benefit was observed in patients with PSMA-positive, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had not previously received taxane-based chemotherapy.
In the aftermath of a temporary radiotherapy shortage earlier in the year, the demand for Pluvicto has grown significantly. The drug exceeded analysts' expectations, generating $451 million in sales during the first half of 2023. Pluvicto has already received FDA approval for use as a later-line, post-taxane therapy. Novartis now has ambitions to expand the drug's usage to earlier stages of prostate cancer treatment. The company estimates that Pluvicto has the potential to reach over $2 billion in peak sales. Furthermore, moving into the taxane-na?ve treatment setting could potentially triple the number of patients who could benefit from Pluvicto. With that kind of market outlook, the radiopharmaceutical space is certainly looking like a sound investment. Further validating venture investors who are backing new startups entering the space.