Novartis AGDominates the market with approved therapies Pluvicto and Lutathera, expects Pluvicto sales to reach $5B by 2030.
The global radioligand therapy market, valued at about $3.2 billion in 2025, is projected to grow to roughly $30 billion by 2034, but geopolitical conflicts are threatening the supply chains for radioactive materials essential to these cancer treatments. Swiss pharma giant Novartis AG currently dominates the market with its two FDA-approved therapies, Pluvicto and Lutathera, which together generated $2.8 billion in net sales last year, and the company expects Pluvicto alone to reach $5 billion in sales by 2030. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's export restrictions on rare earth elements like ytterbium have accelerated efforts by companies such as Germany's ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE to diversify suppliers, while the Iran war prompted some drug developers to stockpile raw materials. Additional hurdles include the need for nuclear reactors to produce isotopes, the short half-life of radioactive drugs requiring local manufacturing, and the high cost of treatment, with a prostate cancer drug priced at about £20,000 per cycle in the UK and roughly $50,000 in the US. Despite these challenges, major pharmaceutical companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly are entering the field, and the therapy is increasingly seen as a potential mainstream cancer treatment.
Novartis AGDominates the market with approved therapies Pluvicto and Lutathera, expects Pluvicto sales to reach $5B by 2030.
AstraZeneca PLCEntering the growing radioligand therapy market, but only mentioned as a new entrant.
Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyEntering the growing radioligand therapy market, but only mentioned as a new entrant.
Eli Lilly and CompanyEntering the growing radioligand therapy market, but only mentioned as a new entrant.
Apple Inc.
Bayer AG NADiversifying suppliers amid geopolitical supply chain threats, benefiting from efforts to secure radioactive materials.