Montreal, November 15, 2024 – Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis Canada) is extremely disappointed that negotiations for PLUVICTO™ (lutetium (177Lu) vipivotide tetraxetan injection), a treatment for patients with progressive PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), with the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) have closed without an agreement.
This outcome is a significant setback for people living with mCRPC whose cancer is progressing despite standard therapies. Since the Health Canada approval of PLUVICTO™ in September 2022, Novartis has heard from clinicians, patients, and their loved ones, about the critical unmet need for mCRPC patients who have exhausted all other treatment options.
As the first targeted radioligand therapy approved by Health Canada for this advanced form of prostate cancer, PLUVICTO™ represents a long-awaited development for the prostate cancer community, particularly for those who need options that will allow them not only to live longer, but also preserve quality of life so they can continue to celebrate important milestones with loved ones.
Novartis acknowledges and respects the role of the pCPA in facilitating access to effective and cost-efficient therapies through public drug plans. However, traditional analytical methods, standards and thresholds used to evaluate health technologies in Canada are not well suited for highly specialized therapies such as PLUVICTO™. New pathways, methods and processes for complex innovations are needed to prevent unreasonable delays and enable sustainable access to health innovations for Canadians.
Novartis remains steadfast in its commitment to the prostate cancer community. We are prepared to pursue all available options to ensure that all eligible patients in Canada have access to this important innovation.
About Novartis
Novartis is a focused innovative medicines company. Every day, we work to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives so that patients, healthcare professionals and societies are empowered in the face of serious disease. Our medicines reach more than 250 million people worldwide.
In Canada, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. employs approximately 600 people to serve the evolving needs of patients and the healthcare system and invests over $30 million in R&D yearly in the country. For more information visit www.novartis.ca.
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