Novartis to buy AAA for radioligand cancer drugs

Pharma major Novartis has agreed to buy radionuclide therapy specialist Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) in a deal that values the company at $3.9 billion (£3 billion).

The deal gives Novartis access to Lutathera (¹⁷⁷Lu-dotatate), AAA’s treatment for certain kinds of cancer, which was approved in Europe in September. The drug comprises a metal-chelating ligand that directs a radionuclide payload to specific receptors associated with the tumour. When loaded with positron-emitting gadolinium it can be used as a diagnostic tracer for positron emission tomography, but in the case of Lutathera it is used to target a beta-emitting lutetium isotope to attack the tumour tissue. Novartis will also take on AAA’s pipeline of other radioligand therapies directed at other tumour types.