A nuclear medicine specialist is taking over as head of BWX Technologies’ medical isotope business after a stint as an adviser to a rival company.
Martyn Coombs will on July 20 succeed Tom Burnett as president of BWXT ITG Canada, according to a press release Monday. Burnett is retiring.
Coombs will assume profit and loss responsibility for BWXT’s existing medical isotope business, which encompasses operations in Kanata, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia. He will also be charged with managing the launch of the company’s technetium-99m production, the press release states.
The isotope, generated through the decay of molybdenum-99, is used widely in medical imaging.
BWXT ITG Canada was established in 2018 within the parent company’s Nuclear Power Group, following BWXT’s acquisition of the Nordion medical isotope business of Sotera Health.
In May, BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said the company anticipated beginning commercial output of molybdenum-99 by the middle of 2022. Geveden acknowledged challenges that have slowed the program in recent years – In June 2018, management believed production would start by the close of 2019, while in 2019 it previewed first sales by the first quarter of 2021.
“Martyn has significant experience within both the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors, particularly in nuclear medicine, and has a successful track record in leading organizations and teams through transformation and innovation,” Geveden said in the release. “We are very pleased to have someone of Martyn’s caliber join BWXT to lead this growing and critical segment of our business.”
Coombs was most recently CEO of nuclear medicine consultancy Predict Ltd., according to his LinkedIn profile. In that position he served as a strategic adviser to SHINE Medical Technologies, a Wisconsin company that is pursuing its own molybdenum-99 business.
He previously served in the top executive spots at companies including medical imaging company ImaginAb and nuclear medicine specialist Jubilant DraxImage.
