Northwest Medical Isotopes will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to support the production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) from low-enriched uranium.
Three other companies are also on board with the NNSA initiative and have received funds for their projects:
- Niowave in Lansing, MI
- NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes in Beloit, WI
- Shine Medical Technologies in Janesville, WI
Congress appropriated $60 million and directed the Department of Energy to distribute funds to projects designed to ultimately produce approximately 3,000 six-day Ci of Mo-99 per week without the use of highly enriched uranium, according to the department. Such a supply would lessen the country's dependence on foreign sources.
Mo-99 is the precursor to technetium-99m (Tc-99m), which is used in an estimated 40,000 diagnostic imaging scans in the U.S. daily.
