Monona, WI and Aiken, SC – Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC (SRNS), the management and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), has granted SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc. (SHINE) an exclusive license on SRNL’s patented hydrogen isotope separation process for use in medical isotope production.
SHINE is a Wisconsin-based company founded to produce medical isotopes using its safe, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly technology. The agreement with SRNS gives SHINE the right to use SRNL’s thermal cycling absorption process (TCAP) in its manufacturing facility. The use of TCAP provides the high-purity inputs needed for SHINE’s patented technology, which enhances the production of medical isotopes, including molybdenum-99 (moly-99).
Moly-99 decays into the diagnostic imaging agent technetium-99m (tech-99m), which is used in over 40 million medical imaging procedures each year—primarily in stress tests to detect heart disease and in bone scans to determine the stage of cancer progression.
Despite constituting approximately half of the world’s demand for moly-99, the US does not produce any moly-99 domestically and currently imports its entire supply from foreign nuclear reactors. Many of these reactors are beyond their original design life and scheduled to be shut down in the coming years.
SHINE will build its first medical isotope manufacturing facility in Janesville, Wisconsin. It will be able to produce enough moly-99 every year to supply more than two-thirds of the US patient population.
“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to solving the global problem of medical isotope shortages. SHINE’s isotope manufacturing plant will be a game-changer for U.S. patients and we’re proud to be part of making that happen.” said Dr. Terry Michalske, Director of Savannah River National Laboratory and SRNS Executive Vice President.
“Savannah River National Laboratory has put a tremendous amount of effort into developing and refining the TCAP technology and we’re excited to take advantage of this proven, state-of-the-art technology in our facility,” said Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE.
About SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc.
Founded in 2010, SHINE is dedicated to being the world leader in safe, clean, affordable production of medical isotopes. The SHINE system uses a patented manufacturing process that offers major advantages over existing and proposed production technologies, as it does not require a nuclear reactor, uses less electricity, generates less waste and is compatible with the nation’s existing supply chain for molybdenum-99. Last year, SHINE announced the execution of molybdenum-99 supply agreements with GE Healthcare and Lantheus Medical Imaging. Learn more at http://shinemed.com.
About Savannah River National Laboratory
SRNL is a multi-program applied research and development laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. SRNL applies state-of-the-art science and engineering to provide practical, high-value, cost-effective solutions for our nation’s environmental cleanup, nuclear security and clean energy challenges. For more information, visit http://srnl.doe.gov.