Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre’s major nuclear cancer breakthrough to hurt drug giant Novartis
Nuclear medicine is emerging as a new way of treating many cancers. And this latest step forward has jubilant Aussies landing a significant counter punch to a Swiss pharma giant.
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Australia and Israel have combined their cancer fighting expertise to take global nuclear medicine a significant step forward. The breakthrough comes in prostate cancer, but confirms nuclear medicine is emerging as a new way of treating many cancers.
And, in the process, jubilant Aussies look like landing a significant counter punch to the Swiss giant Novartis.
The first-in-human trial at the at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre — named the VIOLET trial — applied an experimental therapy designed to seek out and kill prostate cancer cells wherever they are in the body.
Lead Investigator of the project, Professor Michael Hofman, director of Prostate Cancer Theranostics at the Peter Mac centre, describes the results of the new therapy involving radioactive Terbium, as “incredibly encouraging”.
By coincidence, the results of the Terbium trials were released as the world discovered Australia may be able to break the Chinese near-monopoly in the supply of terbium. Israel’s Isotopia Molecular Imaging obtained the Terbium for VIOLET, but Australia’s Lucas Heights-based ANSTO has the ability to provide it.
Terbium is already essential in a vast number of defence and industrial applications, but China, which supplies well over 90 per cent of the world’s Terbium, has banned exports to the US.
Australia has the potential to break this stranglehold and to play a vital role pioneering the use of Terbium-based therapies to treat prostate (and a wider range of) cancers.
But, the drama behind the use of terbium shows how the major drug giants are looking to gain a slice of the action. A decade ago, the use of radioactive rare earths in the treatment of prostate cancer was given impetus when the rare earth ‘lutetium’ was used by a German university. It was backed up at the Peter Mac centre.
The Germans and Australians, including St Vincent’s Hospital research arm in Sydney, worked closely on the lutetium development. They did not believe their research was patentable. But, another German group developed a similar treatment, and this time patents were taken out.
That second German group sold their technology and patents to Novartis. Globally, the Australian/German product was sold at lower prices than the Novartis patented product.
Last year, the Australian government agreed to put the Australian product on the subsidised list for medicines starting next month. The Swiss then responded by warning some of the users of their rival Australian/German product might be sued for breach of patent. One involved legal action. Few were prepared to take on the Swiss giant, and use of the Australian/German product fell sharply.
The Australian and German developers always strongly believed the technology was not eligible to be patented. Most expected the Australian government and/or Peter McCallum to initiate a legal challenge to the Novartis patent.
But, this would be expensive, and had an uncertain outcome. Instead, Peter Mac took a different strategic course and began working with the Israelis on their Terbium-based technology.
A vindicated Hofman, without mentioning the Novartis lutetium-based products, says Terbium-161 has “clear advantages” over lutetium-177.
“Terbium-161 emits beta radiation similar to lutetium, but also Auger electrons which deposit highly concentrated energy over very short distances. The result is an anti-cancer effect that is both more potent and precise”, Hofman says.
Cop that Novartis.
The VIOLET trial, conducted by Peter Mac, involved 30 patients whose advanced prostate cancers were progressing despite standard therapies.
Critically, the therapy was seen to trigger dramatic reductions of “PSA” (prostate specific antigen), the biomarker for active prostate cancer in the blood, indicating a potent anti-cancer effect for most patients.
The key findings include:
• 70 per cent of patients experienced a reduction in PSA levels of 50 per cent or greater, and 40 per cent of patients experienced a PSA reduction of 90 per cent or greater
• Median radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) was 11.1 months.
• Low rates of side effects.
Peter Mac medical oncologist Professor Arun Azad added: “This study marks an important step forward in our understanding of targeted radionuclide therapy”.
“The unique properties of Terbium-161 offer a promising avenue for more effective and precise cancer treatment. The data support further evaluation of this novel therapy in larger phase III trials.”
Dr Eli Shalom, chief executive of Israel-based Isotopia Molecular Imaging, which supplied Terbium-161 and holds the base intellectual property, said: “We are thrilled to see the positive results from the VIOLET trial. This research validates the potential of Terbium-161 as a powerful tool in targeted cancer therapy.”
“We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to bring this innovative treatment to more patients.”
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Originally published as Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre’s major nuclear cancer breakthrough to hurt drug giant Novartis
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