FDA approves new treatment for certain digestive tract cancers, such as that which killed Apple founder

27 January 2018

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) for the treatment of a type of cancer that affects the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract called gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

The FDA granted the approval of Lutathera to France-based Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA), which has been acquired by Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) in a $3.9 billion deal that closed just a few days ago.

This is the first time a radioactive drug, or radiopharmaceutical, has been approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs in the USA. Lutathera is indicated for adult patients with somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs.

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