
#ESMO18: Cardio dreams blighted, Novartis showcases its “blockbuster” ambitions for radiopharmaceuticals
Novartis downplayed the painful news yesterday that the FDA had spurned its application for canakinumab as a cardio drug, imperiling its latest blockbuster ambitions for a heart drug.
Execs would much prefer to talk about Lutathera, their radioisotope cancer drug which is already on the market and was showcased in an early presentation at ESMO in Munich Friday.
The drug — lutetium Lu 177 dotatate — is a small molecule that delivers a radioactive element to kill cancer cells. In a new analysis of NETTER-1 trial data for the drug, approved for neuroendocrine tumors, researchers spotlighted highly significant progression-free survival results for patients taking the drug, regardless of liver tumor burden.
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