NRG PALLAS and Curium Sustain Continuity in the Global Supply of Mo-99
NRG PALLAS (ENS Corporate Member) and Curium have recently extended their collaboration for the production of molybdenum-99, which decays into technetium-99m, through a new multi-year agreement, essential to ensure the continuity of medical isotope supply.
This agreement underlines the shared dedication of both partners to a stable and uninterrupted supply of technetium-99m for patient care worldwide, prolonging the cooperation agreement signed in 2022.
These isotopes are vital for both doctors and patients. The demand for technetium-99m remains strong and our close collaboration with Curium ensures hospitals will continue to be supplied with this indispensable isotope for years to come.
Peter Luijten, CEO NRG PALLAS, said.
More than 50 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed each year, with technetium-99m used in more than 80% of these treatments. Indeed, it plays a crucial role in diagnosing serious conditions such as cardiovascular, lung, and brain diseases, as well as various cancers.
Patients undergoing a SPECT scan in hospitals for conditions such as cardiovascular diseases or various cancers receive an injection of a tracer—a mildly radioactive substance. The radioactive component, technetium-99m, is derived by Curium from low-enriched uranium irradiated by NRG PALLAS.
The irradiation process to produce molybdenum-99, which subsequently decays into technetium-99m, currently takes place in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in Petten, the Netherlands, which operates around 260 days per year.
As planned, this role will be taken over by the PALLAS-reactor, expected to be operational from 2030 onwards, which will offer an extended operational window of approximately 300 days per year.
NRG PALLAS has implemented an extensive Long Term Safe Operation program for the HFR to maintain the safety and reliability of the reactor until the transition of irradiations to the PALLAS-reactor.
Read the full NRG PALLAS Press Release.
The “parent isotope” molybdenum-99 is an essential tool in hospitals. Every day, around 30,000 people benefit from medical examinations thanks to molybdenum-99.
Learn more about it with this NRG story.
Last year, NRG PALLAS and Curium have also signed a long-term agreement to expand the current cooperation to include the production of lutetium-177 (Lu-177).
This agreement enables Curium to supply about 70,000 doses of Lu-177 annually, which will help about 14,000 patients per year.