October 29, 2021 —NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC, a global innovator in the development, production and commercialization of radiopharmaceuticals used for medical imaging and therapeutic applications, hosted a growth and production expansion event, “Accelerating the Future of Patient Health,” at its headquarters in Beloit, Wis., on September 23, 2021. The event showcased the completion ofNorthStar’s Accelerator Production and Isotope Processing facilities, which involved the installation of cutting-edge radioisotope production and processing equipment, and a groundbreaking celebration for its new state-of-the-art Therapeutic Radioisotope Production facility. Numerous guest speakers from national, state and local organizations joined with industry and healthcare leaders, NorthStar customers and investors to share perspectives on the exciting growth of nuclear medicine, the need for reliable U.S. radioisotope supply to support patient health and their experiences with NorthStar.
Guest speakers included:
- Keynote speaker Jeffrey Chamberlin, Associate Assistant Deputy Administrator for Material Management and Minimization, U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, Washington, D.C.
- Diane M. Hendricks, Chairperson, Hendricks Holding Co., Inc.
- Lori S. Curtis Luther, City Manager, City of Beloit, Wis.
- Alan B. Packard, PhD, FSNMMI, Immediate Past President, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
- Randall C. Thompson, MD, FASNC, President, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), Professor of Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Saint Luke's Cardiovascular Consultants, Kansas City, Mo.
- Alan Taylor, PhD, Executive Chairman, Clarity Pharmaceuticals, Sydney, Australia
- Chris Vessell, U.S. Nuclear Medicine Supply Chain Leader, GE Healthcare, Arlington Heights, Ill.
- Tressa Snow, BS, CNMT, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Beloit Health System
- Danny R. Allen, BCNP, President, NuTech Inc., Tyler, Texas
NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes is the sole commercial U.S. producer of the important medical radioisotopemolybdenum-99 (Mo-99), and the only company in the world to use environmentally sound production processes that are non-uranium based. Mo-99 is used to generatetechnetium-99m(Tc-99m), which informs healthcare decisions for 40,000 U.S. patients daily. For nearly three years, NorthStar has provided the United States with reliable Mo-99 supply, used in its RadioGenix System (technetium Tc 99m generator) to produce Tc-99m. NorthStar estimates that more than 1 million patients will have been diagnosed by the end of 2021 using NorthStar technology.
“NorthStar continues to make tremendous progress in our mission to provide patients global access to our game-changing radiopharmaceuticals,” said Stephen Merrick, President and Chief Executive Officer of NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes. “We are well on our way to having dual production and processing pathways for Mo-99 that give additional domestic production capacity and security of supply to better meet customer demand. Our two facility expansion projects in Beloit, Wis. are moving to the final phase of activities required for FDA and WI-DHS approval and will augment current Mo-99 production and processing in Columbia, Mo. The Isotope Processing facility in Beloit will enable us to more than double our current Mo-99 processing capabilities. The new Mo-99 Accelerator Production facility will add significant Mo-99 capacity and enable flexible scheduling, including Sunday production, which is highly desirable for our radiopharmacy customers. Testing of the Accelerator Production and Isotope Processing equipment is underway, with commercial production expected at the start of 2023, pending appropriate licensure and FDA approval.
“重要的是，北极星正在迅速扩大其在治疗放射性同位素新兴领域的领导地位，这是用于靶向放射性药物治疗癌症，呼吸系统和其他疾病。北极星正在定义可扩展的，可靠的治疗性放射性同位素生产供应链。通过应用我们成熟的Mo-99生产开发专业知识和环保型电子加速器技术，我们有条件成为第一个商业化规模的锕-225 (Ac-225)和铜-67 (Cu-67)生产商。NorthStar正在进一步投资于未来，我们开创性地建立了一种治疗性放射性同位素生产设施，专门用于我们的无载体添加(nc.a)的商业规模生产。ac - 225。此外，我们已经扩大了我们的产品线，最近增加了碘-123胶囊到我们的未来产品，等待适当的许可和FDA批准，我们的纤维蛋白特异性诊断成像候选产品的开发仍在轨道上，我们正在评估额外的潜在机会，专门的SPECT放射性药物和治疗放射性同位素，以解决未满足的医疗需求。”
梅里克继续说道:“我们非常感谢所有支持我们进步的合作伙伴和利益相关者:美国能源部的国家核安全管理局和国家实验室、美国食品和药物管理局、威斯康星州卫生服务部、我们的私人商业投资者、北极星的忠诚员工、我们的供应链合作伙伴和我们的客户。特别是，我们要感谢密苏里大学研究反应堆(MURR)的合作伙伴继续向北极星提供的支持，我们与他们在密苏里州哥伦比亚共同生产Mo-99。IBA (Ion Beam Applications s.a.， EURONEXT)是全球领先的加速器供应商，专注于为癌症的诊断和治疗带来集成和创新的解决方案，一直是我们努力的巨大合作伙伴。我们还自豪地帮助展示贝洛伊特市和威斯康星州在技术创新和可持续放射性同位素生产方面的先驱和领导者。我们的扩张活动得到了主要承包商Corporate Contractors Incorporated (CCI)、Springs ATG(先进技术集团)和Von Gahlen(全球领先的核医学和辐射制药先进屏蔽解决方案供应商)的支持。”
“This is a very exciting time for NorthStar and everyone in the nuclear medicine community. All of us share a vision to accelerate the future of patient health by providing innovative solutions to ensure reliable access to radioisotopes that can make a positive difference in healthcare for people around the world,” he concluded.
For more information:www.northstarnm.com
Related Content:
How Nuclear Fusion is Revolutionizing Medical Isotope Production
FDA Approves Additional Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) Filling Lines at NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes
Medical Isotope Industry Opposes Export of Highly Enriched Uranium for IRE
IBA and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes Expand Collaboration to Enable Global Availability of Tc-99m
August 23, 2022
