Companies Are Working On Stabalizing The Global Supply Of Medical Radioisotopes
One of the most important uses for radioactive isotopes is in medical diagnostic and treatment. A major problem with such isotopes is ensuring a reliable supply to meet world needs. There have been three recent announcements that should help stabilize future supplies of important medical isotopes.
Cobalt-60 (Co-60) is a popular isotope for sterilizing medical instruments. It is also used in many cancer treatments. In order to produce Co-60, rods of Co-59 are irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Most of the world’s Co-60 is produced in Candu reactors that are manufactured in Canada. Most of the Co-60 from Candu reactors is produced in Canada but some is produced in Argentina, China and South Korea. Russia produces some Co-60s in their RBMK reactors and one fast neutron reactor.
Nordion is a subsidiary of Sotera Heath Company. Nordion and Westinghouse have recently signed a Letter of Intent under which they pledge to develop "innovative isotope production technology" in order to produce Co-60 in pressurized water reactors (PWR).
There are almost one hundred PWRs in the U.S. alone. Expanding Co-60 production to PWRs will help expand and strengthen the diversity of the Co-60 global supply chain. Kevin Brooks is the President of Nordion. He said Expanding production to PWRs - of which there are nearly 100 in North America alone - will strengthen the diversity of the global supply chain, the companies said. “This partnership will substantially expand future supply options for life-saving cobalt-60. Cobalt-60 is critical to our mission … and we continue to invest heavily in maintaining a reliable, long-term supply.”
Framatome is a French company. Kinetics is a company located in Canada. They have announced that they are going to enter into a joint venture called Isogen in order to support the production of lutetium-177 (Lu-177). Lu-177 is employed as a gamma emitter for medial imaging. It is also utilized as a beta emitter for targeted treatment of cancers including prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors and bone metastases.
Isogen has formed a partnership with Bruce Power, a Canadian utility, to produce Lu-177 through the irradiation of ytterbium-176 in the eight Candu reactors owned by Bruce Power. Isogen’s role will be to design and support the licensing of an isotope production system that will permit the large-scale production of lu-177. The production will, of course, be dependent on regulatory and other approvals. Isotope Technologien München is a German company that specialized in radiopharmaceuticals. They will deliver the ytterbium-176 to the Bruce Power site. Isogen will be responsible for handling and preparing the ytterbium-176 to meet ITM requirements.
Tecnetium-99m (Tc-99m) is the most commonly used radioisotope in medical diagnostic and treatment. It is employed in eighty five percent of diagnostic scans in the world and eighty percent of all nuclear medicine procedures. Tc-99m is produced at the site of use from molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). Both of them are very short lived so there has to be a very stable and constant supply of both. BWXT developed proprietary technology in 2018 that employs a neutron capture technique to create Mo-99.
BWX Technologies (BWXT) has announced that is has successfully “labeled” nine popular “cold kits” using technetium-99m (Tc-99m) derived from its proprietary molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). Cold kits are chemical reagents which are combined with Tc-99m to produce a radiopharmaceutical to be used to treat an individual patient. Labeling cold kits is critical to BWXT in order to gain regulatory approval and market acceptance for the BWXT Tc-99m generator.
BWXT is currently modifying existing facilities and constructing new facilities. It was originally going to introduce the new technology by the end of 2019 but the project has encountered difficulties that have pushed the schedule back. Natural Mo-99 targets will be irradiated primarily at the Darlington nuclear power plant in Canada owned by Ontario Power Generation which is a subsidiary of Lauentis Energy Partners. There is also a reactor service contract between BWXT and Missouri University Research Reactor supplied services to BWXT with respect to the Mo-99 in the cold-kit labeling.