Radioligand Therapy Market Poised for Major Growth Through 2030

The global market for radioligand therapeutics in cancer treatment is estimated to grow from $2.6 billion in 2025 to $4.8 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 13.1%. The total market size of radioligand therapies in leading markets is expected to surge significantly by 2034.

In March 2025, the FDA expanded the label of Pluvicto so it could be used in PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer before chemotherapy, for patients who had received an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor and were considered appropriate to delay taxanes. This label expansion changes how the modality is positioned, moving radioligand therapy forward in the treatment pathway rather than competing in a heavily pretreated population.

Pluvicto (Lu-177 PSMA) and Lutathera (Lu-177 SSTR) have catalyzed commercial momentum, underpinning the approved market. In 2024, the United States holds the largest share of the radioligand therapies market among the 7MM. Novartis anchors the market with substantial sales in North America.

Novartis reported a statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic progression-free survival at a pre-specified interim analysis of the PSMAddition trial, which tested adding Pluvicto to standard hormone therapy in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Moving into metastatic hormone-sensitive disease would place radioligand therapy alongside first-line hormonal strategies rather than after their failure.

Radioligand therapy pairs a targeting molecule, a small ligand, peptide, or antibody, with a radioactive isotope, aiming to deliver radiation to tumor sites while limiting exposure elsewhere. Many programs follow a theranostic approach, meaning imaging the target first to confirm uptake, then treating the patients whose disease actually lights up.

The increasing number of radioligand therapies under clinical trials is driving market expansion. Companies developing novel radioligand therapies include Novartis (177Lu-PSMA-617, 225Ac‑PSMA‑617, 177Lu-NNS309, 177Lu-NeoB, AAA614, and ESP359), Curium Pharma (177Lu-PSMA-I&T), Lantheus and Eli Lilly and Company (Lu-PNT2002 and LNTH-1095), Fusion Pharmaceuticals and AstraZeneca (FPI-2265), Clarity Pharmaceuticals (67CU SAR-BBN and 64Cu-SAR-BBN), Bayer (225Ac-PSMA-Trillium, 225Ac-Pelgifatamab, and 225Ac-GPC3), ITM Isotope Technologies (ITM-11), ARTBIO (212Pb-NG001), Convergent Therapeutics (CONV01-α), Perspective Therapeutics (VMT-α-NET, VMT01, and PSV359), PRECIRIX (CAM-FAP-Ac-225), Ariceum Therapeutics (225Ac-SSO110 and ATT001), and Nuclidium (NU101 and NU201).

177Lu-PNT2002, a late-stage PSMA-targeted radiotherapeutic candidate, is well-tolerated and holds significant potential in meeting the needs of chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC patients. In 2024, the 7MM had approximately 240,000 prevalent cases of metastatic prostate cancer.

The sector is evolving rapidly with advancements in PSMA PET and SSTR PET, earlier-line settings, and combination regimens with standard care, broadening the eligible patient base. Although isotopes supply and specialized personnel constraints persist, especially outside leading centers, RLT's adoption is projected to increase across North America, Europe, and emerging markets through 2030. Largely driven by Lutetium-177 products for near-term revenues, future growth is expected from alpha-emitter and novel platform programs.

Several sizeable private financings in 2025 were explicitly tied to expanding isotope access, manufacturing networks, and platform capabilities. Nuclidium closed a CHF 79 million ($98 million) series B in July to advance its copper-based theranostic programs and scale up production infrastructure across Europe and the U.S. Actithera secured $75.5 million in an oversubscribed series A to advance a fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting radioligand while expanding its discovery platform. ARTBIO closed a $132 million series B round to push forward its alpha radioligand pipeline while explicitly investing in isotope supply and manufacturing capacity. AdvanCell raised $112 million in a series C, pairing clinical acceleration with plans to scale its targeted alpha manufacturing capabilities.

The rising global cancer burden, particularly the increasing prevalence of cancers such as prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors, is a major factor driving demand for radioligand therapies. These therapies are particularly effective in treating cancers that are difficult to manage with conventional treatments like chemotherapy or external radiation. Radioligand therapies deliver radioactive isotopes directly to tumor cells via specific ligands, enabling highly targeted destruction of cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue.