The European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market is witnessing robust expansion driven by several converging macro‑trends. Economic growth across the region has enabled elevated healthcare spending which, when coupled with increasing infrastructure investments, has significantly boosted the adoption of advanced imaging and therapeutic modalities. Technological advancements such as hybrid PET/CT and PET/MR systems, novel radiotracers and theranostic agents further amplify this growth by enabling earlier and more precise disease detection and treatment. Concurrently, the rising incidence of lifestyle‑related diseases including cardiovascular conditions, oncology and neurological disorders, together with the region’s ageing populations, is creating profound demand for nuclear medicine procedures.

For example, Europe’s nuclear medicine market generated revenue of approximately USD 5.23 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach around USD 8.24 billion by 2030. Such growth is rooted in heavy utilisation of diagnostics followed by therapeutics, with growing emphasis on personalised medicine approaches and targeted radiopharmaceuticals. These dynamics are reinforced by increasing hospital and diagnostic‑centre investments specifically aimed at building out isotopes production, cyclotron networks and radiopharmacy capabilities, thereby improving supply chain resilience and shortening time‑to‑patient for perishable radiopharmaceuticals.

While Europe remains a strong region in its own right, significant developments in emerging markets particularly China are helping shape the competitive landscape and investment flow for radiopharmaceuticals globally. China has substantially scaled up nuclear medicine infrastructure including domestic isotope‑production facilities and radiopharmaceutical manufacturing sites to address its ageing population and rapidly growing incidence of chronic diseases. On the corporate front, key industry players are actively executing strategic initiatives: for instance, Siemens Healthineers’ acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Applications’ molecular imaging business in Europe expands its PET radiopharmacy network to bolster diagnostic and theranostic capabilities.

Meanwhile, Sanofi’ investment in a stake of OranoMed evidences a shift toward radioligand therapy development for neuroendocrine tumours and improved isotope supply chain control. Elsewhere, companies are partnering with academic institutions or regional governments in China to establish local R&D and manufacturing hubs for radionuclide‑drug conjugates and microsphere therapies. These expansions, partnerships and contracts are reshaping supply chains, securing isotopes, adapting to regulatory frameworks, and positioning firms for growth in diagnostics, therapeutics and dual‑modality applications. Looking ahead, regulatory harmonisation, enhanced reimbursement frameworks and cross‑border alliances will further strengthen Europe’s position, while competitive pressure and rising infrastructure investments especially from China will drive innovation, volume growth and market diversification within European and nuclear medicine landscapes.

European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market Latest and Evolving Trends

Current Market Trends

The European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market has witnessed remarkable growth, driven by advancements in technology, an aging population, and rising cardiovascular disease cases. Technological innovations, such as miniaturization of radiopharmaceuticals and advancements in imaging systems, are enhancing diagnostic accuracy and treatment outcomes. This has led to an increased adoption of nuclear medicine across hospitals and specialized cardiac centers, where high-precision imaging and therapy are critical for patient care. Additionally, the healthcare infrastructure upgrades in many European countries are fostering an environment conducive to growth.

The market is also benefiting from the development of biocompatible materials, which improve the safety and efficacy of radiopharmaceuticals. As cardiovascular diseases continue to rise, there is a corresponding need for innovative nuclear medicine solutions for accurate diagnostics and therapeutic interventions. Furthermore, strategic partnerships and collaborations between research institutions and key players are boosting research and development, helping to push the market forward. These collaborations have enabled the expansion of nuclear medicine applications, particularly in oncology and cardiology.

Market Opportunities

The European market for nuclear medicine is seeing increasing opportunities due to the rising number of cardiovascular patients and the shift towards personalized healthcare solutions. With cardiovascular diseases becoming more prevalent across the continent, there is a growing demand for advanced imaging and therapeutic treatments that nuclear medicine can provide. Miniaturization technology has led to smaller, more precise devices that can be used in a broader range of clinical settings, increasing the accessibility of nuclear medicine therapies. The development of biocompatible radiopharmaceuticals has opened new frontiers for personalized treatment regimens, particularly in cardiac care.

Moreover, the aging population across Europe is driving demand for diagnostic imaging, as older adults are more susceptible to diseases requiring frequent monitoring. Expanding research and development (R&D) activities in the sector are uncovering new therapeutic targets and improving product offerings. The increasing interest in nuclear medicine is also fostering strategic alliances, particularly in emerging markets within the Asia-Pacific region, where the demand for healthcare solutions is growing rapidly. Hospitals and specialized centers are expanding their adoption of nuclear medicine, as these technologies prove to be essential in treating complex cases that require detailed imaging and tailored therapies.

Evolving Trends

The European nuclear medicine market is evolving in several significant ways, influenced by technological advancements and increasing clinical applications. One of the most noteworthy trends is the growing emphasis on personalized medicine, driven by advancements in radiopharmaceuticals and imaging technologies. The ability to tailor treatments based on a patient’s unique medical profile is reshaping the treatment landscape, particularly in oncology and cardiology. Miniaturization has played a key role in making these technologies more accessible and cost-effective, allowing for integration into smaller healthcare settings, including outpatient clinics and specialized cardiac centers.

Biocompatible materials are improving the safety of radiopharmaceuticals, which in turn is increasing their acceptance among healthcare providers and patients alike. Moreover, the expansion of R&D in the field of nuclear medicine is opening up new therapeutic and diagnostic pathways, with a special focus on treating diseases with high unmet medical needs, such as certain cancers and cardiovascular conditions. The trend toward regional collaborations and strategic alliances is also gaining traction, with European companies increasingly partnering with organizations in emerging markets like Asia-Pacific, where the healthcare sector is rapidly expanding. These partnerships are driving innovation in product portfolios, particularly in radiopharmaceuticals that cater to emerging healthcare needs in regions with increasing disease burden and healthcare infrastructure development.

European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market : Emerging Investment Highlights

Europe’s nuclear medicine sector is transitioning from niche clinical use toward an investable therapeutic and diagnostic platform, driven by expanding indications in oncology and advanced imaging capabilities that increase diagnostic precision and patient stratification. Investors should note the rising commercialisation of radioligand therapies that pair targeted ligands with therapeutic isotopes, improving outcome predictability versus conventional systemic treatments. Supply-chain scale-up (cyclotron networks and centralized radiochemistry) is reducing per-dose costs and enabling multi-center trials, while modular manufacturing and contract-manufacturing partnerships mature.

Reimbursement frameworks in several western European countries are evolving to recognise value-based outcomes for targeted radiotherapies, shortening time to revenue for approved products. Combined, accelerating clinical validation, higher pricing power for novel therapies, and strategic industrial partnerships create multiple entry points from isotope production and logistics to radiopharma CDMOs and compound developers for diversified, risk-adjusted investment strategies.

Recent 2024+ company updates (R&D, M&A, partnerships):

Novartis (radioligand medicines business): continued capacity and supply initiatives to support commercial roll-out of established radioligand therapies, with explicit investments in production facilities and supply chain partnerships to expand dose availability and treatment center access across Europe. These moves are positioned to stabilise commercial supply for lead products and support label expansion programs.

Curium: has been expanding PET and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical manufacturing sites and forming clinical manufacturing collaborations to localise supply for diagnostic and therapeutic agents, strengthening its regional footprint and clinical trial support capabilities. These developments improve on-time delivery and regulatory readiness for novel tracers.

Eckert & Ziegler: consolidated manufacturing and isotope supply capabilities, announced new production lines for therapeutic isotopes (including lutetium and actinium supply initiatives) and entered manufacturing partnerships with developers to support commercial and clinical demand moves that accelerate capacity build-out for Europe’s growing radiotherapy demand.

European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market Limitation

Key restraints remain material and require investor attention: first, capital intensity establishing cyclotron networks, hot cells, and GMP radiochemistry suites demands high upfront and regulatory capital, lengthening payback horizons. Second, regulatory complexity and heterogeneity across European member states complicate cross-border commercialization and add compliance costs for multicountry launches. Third, supply fragility many therapeutic isotopes have short half-lives, creating logistics constraints and dependence on a few production nodes; interruptions can materially reduce near-term revenue.

Fourth, payer uncertainty in some markets still limits price realisation for newer radioligand therapies until long-term outcomes data are mature. Finally, specialist workforce and infrastructure shortages (trained radiochemists, nuclear pharmacies, and certified treatment centers) slow adoption despite clinical enthusiasm. Together, these factors increase execution risk for pure-play investments and favour vertically integrated or diversified exposure.

European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market Drivers

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Clinical demand expansion is a primary growth vector: rising incidence of oncology indications where targeted radioligand therapy shows meaningful survival or progression benefits is driving trial activity and regulatory filings. As precision diagnostics (PET tracers) and therapeutic pairings prove clinical value, adoption in specialist centers increases, creating predictable demand for both isotopes and finished radiopharmaceutical doses. Continued R&D momentum creates a steady pipeline of label expansions and new indications that underpin medium-term revenue growth.

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Demographic and epidemiologic trends an aging population and higher chronic disease prevalence across Europe expand the pool of patients eligible for nuclear diagnostics and radionuclide therapies. Aging cohorts generate greater imaging utilization for cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and oncologic indications, while health system investments in specialised oncology infrastructure increase capacity to deliver complex radiopharmaceutical treatments at scale.

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Technology and ecosystem investment accelerate commercialization: advances in isotope production (more distributed cyclotron capacity), improvements in supply-chain logistics and cold-chain handling, and growth in contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) reduce time-to-market and unit costs. Strategic partnerships between pharma, device and manufacturing players de-risk development and allow capital-efficient scaling, making targeted investments across the value chain more attractive to institutional and strategic investors.

Segmentation Highlights

Type, Application and Geography are the factors used to segment the European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market.

By Type

• Diagnostic
• Therapeutic
  
  

By Application

• Oncology
• Thyroid
• Cardiology

Regional Overview

Within Europe, the dominant region is the western‑and‑central European cluster (led by countries such as Germany, France and the UK), accounting for the largest share of market value approximately USD 1.53 billion in 2024. This region benefits from advanced healthcare infrastructures, mature radiopharmaceutical supply chains and strong R&D activity, and is projected to grow at a steady CAGR of about 8.0% through the forecast period.

The fastest‑growing region within Europe is the eastern and emerging European markets (for example, Poland, Hungary and Turkey) which in aggregate held a market value of approximately USD 0.46 billion in 2024 and are projected to grow at a CAGR of around 10.0% from 2025 to 2032 as investments in nuclear medicine infrastructure accelerate.

Other European regions (including southern Europe such as Italy, Spain, and the rest of Europe) together are estimated at about USD 0.70 billion in 2024, with a forecasted CAGR near 8.7% over the coming years.

European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Market Top Key Players & Competitive Ecosystem

The European Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market sits at the convergence of molecular imaging hardware, radiopharmaceutical development, and localised radiochemistry manufacturing. Market drivers include expanding theranostics applications, increasing incidence of oncology indications amenable to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) and PSMA-targeted approaches, government initiatives to regionalise supply chains for short-lived isotopes, and sustained capital investment in PET/CT and SPECT infrastructure. Recent market sizing estimates place the Europe nuclear medicine market in the low single-digit billions of USD (mid-single billions in equipment and mid-single/low-double billions in radiopharmaceuticals), with projected double-digit CAGRs in some segments over the 2025–2030 horizon as theranostics scales clinically and commercially.

Competition (how Europe fits)

Europe operates in a highly globalised competitive landscape. Three competitor clusters define the market dynamics: (1) integrated medical technology majors that combine diagnostic equipment with radiopharma supply and logistics; (2) radiopharmaceutical pure-plays and CDMO/CMO manufacturers focused on large-scale radioisotope production and kit development; and (3) regional radiopharmacies and distribution networks that provide same-day or short-half-life tracer supply. On the stage the US retains strong capabilities in clinical development, regulatory approvals and commercial-scale supply for F-18 and 177Lu agents; China is rapidly expanding isotopic production capacity and domestic pipeline activity; India is consolidating contract manufacturing strength and exportable radiochemistry services. European companies compete by leveraging strong regulatory experience, proximity to major oncology centres, and investments in GMP radiopharmacy networks; however, Europe depends partially on cross-border supply for some isotopes and finished tracers, which has driven recent strategic M&A and capacity investments.

Regional Competition US, China, India

• United States: Leadership in clinical trial throughput, payor adoption of novel diagnostic-therapeutic pairs, and vertically integrated commercial players that scale national distribution.
• China: Rapidly expanding reactor and cyclotron capacity, strong government support for domestic radiopharma supply chains, and accelerated local approvals for diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes.
• India: Cost-competitive contract manufacturing, growing CDMO capabilities for sterile radiopharmaceutical injectables, and a large domestic market that supports scale for exportable manufacturing services.

R&D, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Technological Innovations (Top 2–3 companies)

Strategic activity among the industry’s most influential companies demonstrates a two-pronged playbook: (A) expand isotopic and kit manufacturing footprint for scale and resilience (B) integrate imaging hardware and software with radiopharmaceutical supply to capture end-to-end value in theranostics. One major radiopharma leader announced a targeted expansion of lutetium-177 capacity and PET manufacturing footprint through strategic manufacturing acquisitions in 2024, explicitly positioning itself to meet growing European and PSMA/PRRT demand.

A second notable corporate move in 2025 saw the same player complete an acquisition of a specialised GMP manufacturing business to bolster in-house radiochemistry and reduce reliance on outsourced capacity; this strengthens short-run production for isotopes with narrow decay windows and supports faster commercial roll-outs of novel therapeutic radioligands.

Meanwhile, a medical imaging and diagnostics group signalled strategic vertical integration by pursuing the molecular imaging business of a large Swiss pharmaceutical company in 2024 a transaction intended to marry advanced PET tracers with long-field-of-view imaging hardware and advanced image analytics. This reflects a broader industry shift: hardware manufacturers are increasingly seeking guaranteed tracer access and companion-diagnostic pipelines to drive equipment utilization and create bundled clinical solutions.

Another leader active in the radiopharma therapeutics space executed a transformational acquisition in early 2025 to accelerate its evolution into a fully integrated radiopharmaceutical company, combining clinical pipeline assets with manufacturing and distribution capabilities an archetypal example of how firms are consolidating upstream R&D with downstream commercial infrastructure to shorten time-to-market for theranostic agents.

Major Key Companies in the European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Market

• Integrated imaging & diagnostics groups expanding molecular imaging portfolios
• Large radiopharmaceutical manufacturers and GMP CDMOs focused on Lutetium-177, Actinium-225 and Fluorine-18 tracers
• Regional radiopharmacy networks and logistics providers enabling same-day tracer delivery
• Specialist biotech firms developing next-generation PSMA, SSTR and novel theranostic ligands
• Equipment suppliers coupling PET/CT and SPECT hardware with advanced software workflows

Recent European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Industry Development 2024 onward

From 2024 onward the industry showed three convergent themes: capacity scaling, vertical integration, and policy/regulatory attention to supply security. Quantitatively, the Europe radiopharmaceuticals market is reported in recent market overviews in the low-to-mid USD billions (2024 baseline), with forecasted CAGRs in the high single digits to low double digits depending on the source and whether equipment or consumables are included. This quantitative momentum is underpinned by observable deal activity: targeted acquisitions to add lutetium and PET production capacity (2024–2025), purchases of GMP manufacturing specialists to improve in-region fill/finish capability (2025), and selective transactions by imaging incumbents to secure tracer pipelines and broaden theranostics offerings.

Operationally, several market participants reported meaningful increases in radiopharma segment revenues and production volumes in early-2025, reflecting strong clinical uptake for established tracers and growing demand for therapeutic radio-ligands. At the same time, European industry associations have highlighted workforce and reimbursement challenges that could constrain near-term scaling unless addressed by coordinated policy and investment. Activity reports from trade groups indicate that stakeholders are prioritising resilient supply chains, workforce training, and harmonised GMP frameworks across member states.

Implications for investors and participants: The competitive picture favours enterprises that can (a) secure multi-site production for short-half-life isotopes, (b) integrate diagnostic imaging and tracer supply to capture clinical pathways, and (c) demonstrate regulatory and reimbursement preparedness for theranostic launches. Market returns will likely be concentrated among companies that convert R&D pipelines into scalable manufacturing and reliable distribution within Europe while managing capital intensity and regulatory timelines.

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