The radiopharmaceutical injection works by hitting cancer cells with high energy electrons. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a radioactive drug to treat the ultra-rare type of digestive tract cancer that killed Steve Jobs in 2011. Lutathera is unusual in that it harnesses the same molecule that is used to diagnose cancer to also deliver the treatment. The radiopharmaceutical injection works by hitting cancer cells with high energy electrons, just like radiotherapy, but targets gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs) that over-express a certain protein. The European Medicines Agency approved Lutathera in September and Novartis offered to buy Advanced Accelerator a month later.

Source: Economic Times January 26, 2018 20:26 UTC