Lantheus Medical Imaging, a provider in diagnostic medical imaging, has initiated the commercial production of TechneLite (Technetium Tc99m Generator) generators using molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) produced with low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets.
Lantheus has received the first commercial scale batch from NTP Radioisotopes (NTP), a subsidiary of the Nuclear Energy Corporate of South Africa (NESCA).
Lantheus is working closely with NTP and the Department of Energy, as part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative to drive the conversion of production of Mo-99, an important medical isotope, from the use of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) to LEU.
Lantheus Medical Imaging president and CEO Don Kiepert said the company is a provider in securing and supplying Mo-99 to the nuclear medicine community and they are pleased to be the first company in North America to receive FDA approval for the commercial sale and distribution of their TechneLite generators using Mo-99 produced from LEU targets.
As a result of the recent and prolonged global supply shortage of Mo-99 and the company’s global supply chain diversification strategy, Lantheus entered into an agreement with NTP in 2009 in an effort to ensure expanded access to Mo-99 and has been working closely with NTP to qualify LEU-based Mo-99 for commercial use.