Lantheus Announces FDA Acceptance of NDA for New Formulation for Market-Leading PSMA PET Imaging Agent
Designed to expand PSMA PET imaging access for patients by increasing batch size by ~50% and enhancing supply resilience
PDUFA date set for
This NDA acceptance builds on the success of Lantheus’ market-leading PSMA PET imaging agent, PYLARIFY, which has demonstrated high diagnostic performance and meaningful impact on clinical decision making. If approved, we expect that this new formulation will offer an efficacy consistent with the market-leading PSMA PET agent, PYLARIFY, which has demonstrated an 86% median true-positive rate based on three independent readers in a study of patients with recurrent prostate cancer based on rising PSA after therapy.1
“We are pleased the FDA accepted Aphelion’s NDA for the new piflufolastat F 18 formulation, which we expect will improve patient access due to a significant increase in the number of doses per batch,” said
This new formulation optimizes the manufacturing process and is expected to increase batch size by ~50%, allowing
“We have reached a key milestone and delivered on our commitment to advance prostate cancer imaging through sustainable innovation,” said
About Prostate Cancer
In the
About PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) injection (also known as 18F-DCFPyL or PyL) is a fluorinated small molecule PSMA-targeted PET imaging agent that enables visualization of lymph nodes, bone and soft tissue metastases to determine the presence or absence of recurrent and/or metastatic prostate cancer. For men with prostate cancer, PYLARIFY PET combines the accuracy of PET imaging, the precision of PSMA targeting and the clarity of an F 18 radioisotope for superior diagnostic performance. The recommended PYLARIFY dose is 333 MBq (9 mCi) with an acceptable range of 296 MBq to 370 MBq (8 mCi to 10 mCi), administered as a bolus intravenous injection.3-9
PYLARIFY has made a profound impact on the lives of patients battling prostate cancer. It is the number one ordered PSMA PET imaging agent in the U.S., and is a proven diagnostic backed by real-world experience, including in over 500,000 scans across 48 states,
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection
Indication
PYLARIFY® (piflufolastat F 18) Injection is a radioactive diagnostic agent indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions in men with prostate cancer:
- with suspected metastasis who are candidates for initial definitive therapy.
- with suspected recurrence based on elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level.
Important Safety Information
Contraindications
None.
Warnings and Precautions
Risk of Image Misinterpretation
Imaging interpretation errors can occur with PYLARIFY imaging. A negative image does not rule out the presence of prostate cancer and a positive image does not confirm the presence of prostate cancer. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of patients with biochemical evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer seems to be affected by serum PSA levels. The performance of PYLARIFY for imaging of metastatic pelvic lymph nodes prior to initial definitive therapy seems to be affected by risk factors such as Gleason score and tumor stage. PYLARIFY uptake is not specific for prostate cancer and may occur with other types of cancer as well as non-malignant processes and in normal tissues. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation of the suspected prostate cancer site, is recommended.
Hypersensitivity Reactions
Monitor patients for hypersensitivity reactions, particularly patients with a history of allergy to other drugs and foods. Reactions may be delayed. Always have trained staff and resuscitation equipment available.
Radiation Risks
Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals, including PYLARIFY, expose patients to radiation. Radiation exposure is associated with a dose-dependent increased risk of cancer. Ensure safe handling and preparation procedures to protect patients and health care workers from unintentional radiation exposure. Advise patients to hydrate before and after administration and to void frequently after administration.
Adverse Reactions
The most frequently reported adverse reactions were headaches, dysgeusia and fatigue, occurring at rate of ≤2% during clinical studies with PYLARIFY. In addition, a delayed hypersensitivity reaction was reported in one patient (0.2%) with a history of allergic reactions.
Drug interactions
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and other therapies targeting the androgen pathway, such as androgen receptor antagonists, may result in changes in uptake of PYLARIFY in prostate cancer. The effect of these therapies on performance of PYLARIFY PET has not been established.
To report suspected adverse reactions for PYLARIFY, call 1-800-362-2668 or contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. Please read the accompanying full Prescribing Information also available at PYLARIFY.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the potential FDA approval of the NDA for a new formulation of piflufolastat F18, the Company’s F-18 based PET imaging agent and statements regarding Lantheus’ expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements may be identified by their use of terms such as “aim,” “designed,” “expect,” “expected,” “will” and other similar terms. Such forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, including our ability to obtain FDA approval for our new formulation of PYLARIFY, to complete the technology transfer across our PET manufacturing facilities network for such new formulation, and to obtain adequate coding, coverage and payment, as well as the risk and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the
About Lantheus
Lantheus is the leading radiopharmaceutical-focused company, delivering life-changing science to enable clinicians to Find, Fight and Follow disease to deliver better patient outcomes. Headquartered in Massachusetts with offices in New Jersey, Canada,
1Morris MJ, et al;
2
3Harris E. Prostate Cancer Cases Might Rise to 3 Million Globally by 2040. JAMA. 2024;331(20):1698. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.6729
4PYLARIFY® [package insert].
5Data on file.
6Mena E, Lindenberg ML, Turkbey IB, et al. 18F-DCFPyL PET/CT imaging in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer after primary local therapy. J Nucl Med. 2020;61(6):881-889.
7Werner RA, Derlin T, Lapa C, et al. 18F-labeled, PSMA-targeted radiotracers: leveraging the advantages of radiofluorination for prostate cancer molecular imaging. Theranostics. 2020;10(1):1-16.
8Alipour R, Azad A, Hofman MS. Guiding management of therapy in prostate cancer: time to switch from conventional imaging to PSMA PET? Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2019;11:1-14.
9Petersen LJ, Zacho HD. PSMA PET for primary lymph node staging of intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer: an expedited systematic review. Cancer Imaging. 2020;20(1):10.
Contacts:
Vice President, Investor Relations
978-671-8842
ir@lantheus.com
Executive Director,
646-975-2533
media@lantheus.com

Source: Lantheus Holdings, Inc.