The field of oncology has reached a new frontier in care: radiopharmaceuticals.  

Considered drugs, radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive compounds with an isotope that can target specific cancer cells. This creates an opportunity for more tailored therapy, expanding the cancer-treatment toolkit. 

At the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland, Prime Therapeutics (Prime) experts shared the latest in this exciting area of medicine. Abby Kim, PharmD, BCOP, senior principal, and Sneha Sharma, PharmD, director, specialty clinical solutions, presented their session, “All aglow! Health plan challenges and opportunities with the rise of radiopharmaceuticals in cancer care.” 

Here are some of the key takeaways from their session.  

What are radiopharmaceuticals?  

Radiopharmaceuticals are generally broken into three categories:  

1. Diagnostic to detect disease 
2. Therapeutic to treat disease 
3. Theragnostic to both detect and treat disease 

This last category is often used in prostate cancer therapy. 

Radiopharmaceuticals represent a growing, multibillion dollar market. In 2025, the projected market for these drugs is more than $7 billion. By 2034, that number is expected to double, Sharma shared. This presents an opportunity for managed care pharmacy professionals to play a greater role improving access to these drugs and managing costs and side effects. 

“Approximately 50% to 60% of all cancer patients will receive radiation therapy at some point of their cancer therapy,” Kim said. 

That means radiopharmaceuticals are not only opening a new door in oncology therapy but also allowing treatment to potentially be more targeted and safer for patients. The rising utilization of radiopharmaceuticals, and management strategies, were also a key topic in the 2025 Prime Therapeutics Report.  

In the case of prostate cancer therapy, radiopharmaceuticals are effective in delivering high doses of radiation with limited impact to surrounding tissue. “In other words, if you think you’ll be the Hulk for Halloween, you’re going to need a costume,” Sharma said.  

“This illustrates the promise and complexity of these therapies … especially when they are combined with other therapeutic agents,” Kim said.  

Keeping up with demand 

Radiopharmaceuticals require providers that specialize in nuclear medicine. With an aging health care workforce and a skill gap in this growing field, it can be difficult to keep up with the increasing demand for these new therapies.  

Some areas of the United States are meeting the demand to get these new therapies to patients in need; many others are falling behind. Which, as Kim explained, presents an opportunity for the health care industry at large to be more coordinated and build expertise to bridge the gap. 

Despite these barriers, cost and reimbursement models, as well as Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines, are changing to meet the need for these new therapies. Essentially, access is improving, but the costs of these agents mean we have a way to go.  

From a managed care perspective, “This is an area to watch,” Kim said.  

Stay tuned for more AMCP Nexus 2025 content throughout the week at the Prime newsroom.