The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday awarded phase II funding to General Atomics for its molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) supply agreement with Sterigenics International subsidiary Nordion and the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center.
Mo-99 decays into technetium-99m, which is used in imaging procedures for cancer, heart disease, bone disease, and kidney disease. With Canada’s shutdown of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, in November, the medical isotope industry fears a shortage in the market in the coming years, as the NRU is one of the world’s largest suppliers of the isotopes.
Under the cooperative agreement, Ontario-based Nordion would receive Mo-99 produced at the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center using General Atomics’ Selective Gaseous Extraction (SGE) technology. Wednesday’s award increases NNSA’s total commitment to the project to $25 million, a $15.3 million boost from original phase I funding of $9.7 million awarded in September 2015.
“NNSA’s new funding will help ensure we achieve our goal of reestablishing the routine North American commercial supply of molybdenum-99 by mid-to late-2018,” Nordion General Manager of Medical Isotopes Phil Larabie said in a statement Wednesday. “The ongoing test program for this project is exceeding our expectations and will help secure Nordion’s long-term future as the world’s premiere provider of Mo-99 to health care systems in the U.S. and around the world.”
While the NRU ceased routine Mo-99 production in November, the Canadian government, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, and Nordion have committed to maintaining stand-by production capability until March 31, 2018, in the event of a significant Mo-99 supply shortage.
“We are pleased NNSA has elected to continue funding this important project and have full confidence that, with our partners Nordion and MURR, we will develop the capability to commercially produce Mo-99 using GA’s LEU-based selective gas extraction technology,” General Atomics Mo-99 Project Manager Kathy Murray said in a statement. “Our Phase I results show that the product meets Nordion’s stringent specification requirements for use in their existing infrastructure.”
Nordion is a provider of medical isotopes and gamma technologies, while San Diego-based General Atomics specializes in energy innovation and advanced technologies for energy, medical imaging, and next generation computing.
