Novartis Precision Cancer Therapy Hits Primary Goal In Rare Type Of Pancreatic Cancer

Novartis AG NVS released topline data from the Phase 3 NETTER-2 trial with Lutathera, a radioligand therapy (RLT) for advanced gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

Radioligand therapy, or radionuclide or radiopharmaceutical therapy, is a targeted cancer treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells. Radioligand therapy's precision helps limit damage to healthy, surrounding tissue. 

The study met its primary endpoint of improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) and the key secondary endpoint of objective response rate (ORR) in patients who received first-line treatment with Lutathera in combination with long-acting octreotide versus high-dose long-acting octreotide alone.

No new or unexpected safety findings were observed in the study.

Also Read: Novartis' Prostate Cancer Therapy Hit By Supply Crunch, Seeks To Ramp Up Production To Ease Supply Issues.

NETs are a type of cancer originating in neuroendocrine cells throughout the body and are commonly considered slow-growing malignancies. 

With these results, NETTER-2 is Lutathera's second Phase 3 trial, showing clinically meaningful results for patients. 

The approval of Lutathera was originally based on the pivotal NETTER-1 trial, which demonstrated highly significant and clinically meaningful PFS prolongation for patients treated with Lutathera in combination with long-acting octreotide versus high-dose (60 mg) long-acting octreotide for SSTR-positive, inoperable midgut neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) who were progressing despite standard treatment.

 Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Meunier upgrades Novartis from Underweight to Equal-Weight.

Price Action: NVS shares closed at $101.14 on Friday.