Pluvicto Launch in India: First Radioligand Therapy for Prostate Cancer
Why in the news
Swiss drugmaker Novartis introduced a radiation-based targeted treatment in India, even though it exited its listed Indian subsidiary months earlier. The launch points to a maturing nuclear medicine ecosystem.
Key facts
- Drug: Pluvicto (Lu-177 vipivotide tetraxetan), a radioligand therapy (RLT).
- Target patients: eligible PSMA-positive metastatic prostate cancer cases.
- Supply: imported from Novartis plants in Spain and Italy; available first at select hospitals and nuclear medicine centres.
- Disease burden: around 2,50,000 cases a year in India; more than half detected late.
How it works
- A targeting molecule latches onto PSMA, a protein abundant on many prostate cancer cells.
- The radioactive isotope Lu-177 then releases radiation at the tumour.
- The targeting part works like a GPS, limiting damage to healthy tissue, unlike chemotherapy which hits healthy and cancerous cells alike.
Background
- RLT: a targeted therapy linking a radioactive isotope to a molecule that binds cancer cells; nicknamed “guided missile therapy”. Another example: Lutathera (Lu-177 dotatate) for neuroendocrine tumours.
- PSMA: a protein highly expressed on prostate cancer cell surfaces; a biomarker used in diagnosis (PSMA-PET imaging) and treatment.
Regulators named
- CDSCO, headed by the DCGI, is the national drug regulator, based in New Delhi.
- AERB regulates radiation safety.
Exam angle
- Isotope used: Lutetium-177.
- Biomarker: PSMA.
- Nickname of RLT: guided missile therapy.