Novartis to site its fourth US radioligand manufacturing facility in Florida

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Novartis is building its fourth US radioligand therapy manufacturing facility in Winter Park, Florida, US.

It follows the opening of the company’s third US plant last November, sited in the west of the country in California.

The new 35,000ft² facility, which is expected to be online by 2029, is part of the company’s $23 billion planned manufacturing investment designed to further expand its specialised supply chain and manufacturing capabilities for radioligand therapies.

Novartis is looking to the site to optimise delivery of these medicines to cancer patients in the southeast US and help maintain the firm’s steady rate of >99 percent of doses administered on the planned day.

Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, explained that its new Florida facility will help the company to expand its US manufacturing network and ensure it can continue to deliver radioligand therapy medicines “with speed and reliability to patients who need them”.

The new Florida site is Novartis’ fourth of five planned US facilities and part of the firm’s proposal to enhance its radioligand manufacturing network over the next five years. Indiana and New Jersey are two of the locations being considered to host the remaining fifth site.

Novartis is the only company with two FDA-approved radioligand therapies treatments, Pluvicto (lutetium Lu¹⁷⁷ vipivotide tetraxetan) and Lutathera (lutetium Lu¹⁷⁷ dotatate). Its radioligand medicine portfolio also includes new isotopes, ligands and combination therapies.

Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said: “Novartis’ investment in manufacturing cancer medicines here in Florida – where we’re already number 2 nationally in both manufacturing for medicine and medical device technology – is an incredible opportunity to welcome world class innovators to our incredibly collaborative and impactful life sciences community.”

Meanwhile, in Europe Novartis is adjusting its manufacturing strategy in Switzerland to secure competitiveness, which involves restructuring its workforce and investing in advanced technologies. This move is also part of the company’s planned $23 billion investment.