The innovative medicines company, Novartis, held a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 4 for its newest manufacturing facility, located in Indianapolis. Strategically positioned at the crossroads of America, this new Novartis radioligand therapy (RLT) manufacturing facility is testament to the company’s ambition to make RLT the next pillar in cancer care, according to a Novartis spokesperson.
“Delivering RLTs to patients is a complex operation, and time is critical. The Indianapolis site is a strategic shipping location within the US as it is an important aspect of our supply chain and helps to enable timely delivery of Pluvicto® across the US.”
Novartis has spent years evolving its processes to secure the timely delivery of RLT to patients in need, and is in fact the sole pharmaceutical company to manufacture and deliver RLTs commercially worldwide. The new Indianapolis facility’s centralized location will help to ensure rapid delivery of RLT products to patients. “Approximately 50% of the US population is within a 12-hour drive, and the facility is close to the airport for further reach. This location choice is crucial for timely delivery of these time-sensitive treatments.”
The manufacturing and delivery of Novartis RLT will specifically impact the local medical community in Indianapolis as well as more broadly to patients all over the world. “The 70,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Indianapolis is solely focused on producing RLTs, precision medicines designed to find and treat cancer. Our commitment to bringing RLTs to patients now and in the future is a shining example of our purpose and mission as we reimagine medicine together. We are working with our partners and healthcare professionals to bring RLTs to patients and advance the science of nuclear medicine to help make the promise of next-generation cancer care a reality today, in an effort to address important needs of patients around the world.”
The facility will also positively impact the Indiana job market and workforce, with over 150 dedicated employees currently working at the Indianapolis facility, in addition to 1,000-plus RLT facility workers at other locations around the world. Novartis also plans to hire more qualified local talent throughout 2024 as well as leveraging its global knowledge to most efficiently operate its facility.
The company’s expansion in Indianapolis is just one aspect of Novartis’ planned growth; it currently has two active RLT manufacturing sites in the US (Millburn, NJ and Indianapolis, IN) and recently announced plans to build out manufacturing capabilities in Sasayama, Japan and Haiyan, Zhejiang, China. The opening of Novartis’ RLT manufacturing facility in Indianapolis marked a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to the RLT platform as not just the largest and most advanced facility, but also representing a crucial step in increasing the accessibility and supply of RLTs for cancer patients.
The Indianapolis facility is purpose-built from the ground up to manufacture RLTs at present and into the future. “The facility includes space for continued line expansion including plans for fully automated lines, a first for the radiopharmaceutical industry and a next generation innovation Novartis helped design, with a vision to take larger scale RLT production from a possibility into a reality. By creating potential to add more semi-automated and automated lines, we’re not just expanding our worldwide production capacity to 250,000 doses in 2024 and beyond, we’re preparing to scale and sustain future growth.”
These milestone innovations are integral for the future of cancer treatment and for medicine in general. The Indianapolis facility promises to continue to advance Novartis’ dedication to science and technology to improve patient outcomes. “Equipped with the latest advancements in RLT manufacturing, the facility demonstrates our commitment to not only meet the current demand for these therapies but to also innovate for the future. Our investment here is a testament to our belief in RLT as a foundational therapy in cancer care, showcasing our role as a leader in this dynamic field.”
Novartis’ ambition is for a future in which RLTs are used to treat many types of cancers in earlier stages of the diseases. The company is currently investigating a diverse range of RLTs, exploring new isotopes, ligands and combination therapies to look beyond just gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and prostate cancer and into breast, colon, lung and pancreatic cancer.
Sergio Cerdas, Global Head Radioligand Therapy (RLT) Technical Operations, is proud of the incredible advancements Novartis has made for the medical community. "If you ask me what my goal is, I would say it is to celebrate our remarkable achievements in delivering these therapies to patients today and I hope to see many more patients benefiting from this medicine from a wide range of cancers in the future.”
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