BR2’s Radioisotopes Helped More Than 10 Millions Patients in 2021 In 2021, more than 10 million patients were helped thanks to the production of medical radioisotopes in the Belgian research reactor BR2, as reported the Belgian nuclear research centre SCK CEN (ENS Corporate Member). At each operating cycle, it provides the necessary raw materials used…
SCK CEN and IRE Ready To Start Lutetium-177 Large-Scale Production SCK CEN (ENS Corporate Member) and the National Institute for Radioelements (IRE) are going to start the large-scale production of lutetium-177. This decision opens up opportunities for cancer patients. Lutetium-177 is currently used in hospitals to treat neuroendocrine tumours. Neuroendocrine cells are found primarily in the…
Tractebel and IBA To Support Proton Therapy Construction Projects Tractebel (ENS Corporate Member) and IBA, the world leader in particle accelerator technology, join forces to support the construction of facilities for proton therapy (PT), an advanced form of radiation therapy designed to kill cancer cells. The agreement provides that IBA will promote Tractebel’s engineering services to its prospective…
The World’s First Lutetium-177 Produced At Commercial Nuclear Reactor The Canadian nuclear operator Bruce Power announced the world’s first production of lutetium-177 (Lu-177) at a commercial nuclear reactor, its Bruce-7 nuclear power plant in Ontario. This milestone has been achieved thanks to the international cooperation between Bruce Power, Isogen (a Kinectrics and Framatome company), and…
Ensuring The Future – Outlook on Medical Radioisotopes and Uranium Supply Chains in Europe Interview with Euratom Supply Agency Director General Agnieszka Kazmierczak Medical radioisotopes are a crucial tool in beating cancer and other diseases, offering several and innovative solutions in terms of diagnostics and treatments. Despite this key role, the whole production and supply…
The New PSI Pharmaceutical Laboratory Is Ready For Production Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI, ENS Corporate Member) announced that its new pharmaceutical laboratory for the manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals is ready for production, accordingly to the operating licence granted by the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic). For more than 20 years, in collaboration with ETH Zurich,…
Framatome Announces New Investment Supporting Nuclear Medicine Framatome (ENS Corporate Member) announced that it acquired a minority stake in the French startup Global Morpho Pharma. With this investment, Framatome strengthens its activities serving nuclear medicine development and expands its support for the supply chain of Lutetium-177 and other promising isotopes for therapeutic applications. Global Morpho…
NRG And Curium Sign Contract For Production of Mo-99 NRG (ENS Corporate Member) and Curium have signed a multi-year contract for the production of molybdenum-99, the starting material for technetium-99m (Tc-99m). Tc-99m is the most used isotope in nuclear medicine for diagnosing life-threatening diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, lung and brain disorders and cancer. With…
Dutch Cabinet Supports Construction Of PALLAS Research Reactor The Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Ernst Kuipers recently announced, that money has been set aside for the construction of the PALLAS reactor in Petten, North Holland, in the coming years. The ministry is reserving 30 million euros for the project this year and 129…
Medical Isotopes – International Experts Call For Action To Secure Supply International experts from irradiating reactors, other isotope producers, and direct users urgently call for a long-term strategy to prevent a critical shortage of research and production capacities. They jointly ask for a common framework that stimulates much needed policy changes and investments. The high-level…