31 Jan (NucNet): NRG and Curium have signed a multi-year agreement for the production of Molybdenum-99, the base material for producing Technetium-99 (Tc-99m), which is used in millions of medical diagnostic procedures a year.
The agreement will combine NRG’s irradiation capabilities with Curium’s processing and manufacturing capabilities.
NRG said Tc-99m is the most important isotope used in nuclear medicine and the agreement will support the long-term diagnosis of life-threatening diseases such as cardiovascular, lung and brain diseases, and cancer.
Some 49 million patient investigations are conducted annually with nuclear medicine and Tc 99m is used in more than 80% of these investigations. “We expect the total market to grow, particularly for nuclear medicines used in the treatment of cancer,” NRG said in a statement. “This agreement represents a major step towards meeting this growing demand.”
NRG and Curium are both based in Petten, the Netherlands, which is the site of the High-Flux research reactor. Together they are the world’s largest suppliers of nuclear medicines, NRG said.
