SHINE Medical Technologies announced Wednesday that its headquarters will later this year be relocated from Monona, Wis., to Janesville, Wis., where the company is preparing to build a medical radioisotope production facility.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February approved SHINE’s construction permit to build the its $100 million plant. The company is vying to become the first American commercial producers of molybendum-99 in more than 25 years. The radioisotope decays into technetium-99m, which is used in imaging procedures for cancer, heart disease, bone disease, and kidney disease.
The new headquarters is planned at the Prospect 101 building in downtown Janesville, which is about 6 miles from the future production facility, to be built near the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport. SHINE chose the plant location after a site selection process in 2012, according to a company press release.
“Our entire team is excited about this move. The relationship between the City and SHINE has always been a top priority, and now it’ll be home,” SHINE CEO Greg Piefer said in the statement. “Janesville has great momentum right now, and we’re thrilled to be contributors, especially the revitalization of the downtown riverfront area, an iconic part of the city.”
SHINE is expected to employ more than 60 people in 2017, and about 150 people at the future production facility. The company plans to start building the 57,000-square-foot facility in 2017, and to produce test batches by 2018.
SHINE’s competitors include Northwest Medical Isotopes and Coqui RadioPharmaceuticals Corp. Northwest plans to start commercial operation in late 2018 at its $70 million facility at the Discovery Ridge research park in Columbia, Mo. Coqui hopes to begin production in late 2020 or early 2021 at its $400 million facility in Alachua, Fla.
