New Delhi: Introducing India’s first regulatory authority-approved radioligand therapy for advanced prostate cancer, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis on Monday launched Pluvicto, a treatment that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissue.
Pluvicto drug is administered as an intravenous infusion, and is approved for patients diagnosed with a specific, hard-to-treat form of the disease called Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. It is imported from certified manufacturing facilities in Spain and Italy.
According to Novartis, a global Phase III clinical trial showed that Pluvicto significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or fatal outcomes compared to standard care. Patients in the trial also reported improved quality of life.
“In India, a large proportion of prostate cancer patients continue to be diagnosed only after the disease has progressed to a metastatic stage, limiting treatment options and impacting quality of life,” said Amitabh Dube, Country President and Managing Director, Novartis India. “With the launch of Pluvicto, we are bringing a globally recognised radioligand therapy platform to India at a time when the need for precision oncology solutions is increasing rapidly.”
Prostate cancer in India
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), prostate cancer is among the top three cancers in urban Indian males, ranking second in large cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram.
Novartis estimates over 2.5 lakh new cases diagnosed every year. The company said that the bigger problem is that more than half of all patients in India are diagnosed only after the cancer has spread to other organs, a stage called metastatic disease.
According to ICMR-NICPR data, the overall five-year survival rate for prostate cancer in India stands at 64 percent, dropping to 30 percent for patients diagnosed at Stage IV, when the cancer has already spread beyond the prostate to organs such as the bladder, lymph nodes or bones.
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What is radioligand therapy?
Radioligand therapy is a relatively new class of cancer treatment that combines a targeting molecule with a radioactive substance, delivered into the bloodstream through an infusion. The therapy is being tested for different cancers globally.
In the case of Pluvicto, the targeting molecule homes in on a protein called PSMA, which is found in high quantities on the surface of prostate cancer cells. Once the drug binds to these cells, the radioactive component emits radiation that damages and eventually kills them.
The key distinction from conventional radiation therapy is precision. Standard external radiation and chemotherapy affect rapidly dividing cells across the body, causing side-effects because healthy cells are caught in the crossfire.
Radioligand therapy narrows the attack to cells that carry the PSMA protein, reducing, though not eliminating, harm to surrounding tissue.
Where can patients access it?
Pluvicto is already approved and on the market in the US, the UK, Canada and the European Union member states. According to Novartis filings, the drug recorded $454 million in global sales in 2025, growing 32 percent, driven largely by its expanded approval for use before chemotherapy in the US. The India launch extends that footprint to one of Asia’s largest pharmaceutical markets.
Novartis said that the drug will be made available through select hospitals and nuclear medicine centres. “India’s nuclear medicine ecosystem has expanded significantly over the past decade and today includes more than 250 nuclear medicine centres across the country,” said Dube.
“Novartis plans to collaborate with healthcare institutions, oncologists, nuclear medicine specialists, and hospital partners to support treatment readiness and multidisciplinary care pathways for eligible patients,” he added.
The company said it plans to work with oncologists, nuclear medicine specialists and hospital partners to expand treatment readiness.
Earlier this year, Novartis sold its controlling stake in the publicly listed Novartis India Ltd through a $159-million deal. The Swiss drugmaker, however, continues to maintain its presence in India through its wholly owned subsidiary, Novartis Healthcare Pvt Ltd, which houses its innovation medicines business, R&D activities, and global operations functions.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)