Canadian radioisotope producer MDS Nordion highlighted its role in maintaining a stable supply of radiopharmaceuticals and discussed its plans to move closer to end users at the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) meeting.
During the U.S. shortage of technetium-99m earlier this year, the Kanata, Ontario, company was supplying 100% of the country's molybdenum, used to generate technetium-99m, as well as all of its iodine-131, according to Steve West, president of the company. A particular challenge was ensuring that the rest of the world's needs for molybdenum did not go unmet during the shortage, he said.
MDS Nordion is undergoing a shift in corporate direction to match growing interest in molecular imaging, West said. The company is broadening its service offerings and is providing new tools for drug discovery, such as new chemistry and isotopes. One example is copper-64, a PET radioisotope that MDS Nordion began shipping last year that's often used in drug discovery.
MDS Nordion plans to increasingly target its products and services to end users, and will probably develop more branded products like its TheraSphere brachytherapy treatment for liver cancer. The company is applying for the European CE Mark for the radiopharmaceutical, and is planning multicenter clinical trials to expand the product's indication beyond primary liver cancer.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
June 7, 2006
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MDS Nordion, Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals partner, February 16, 2006
MDS Nordion collaborates with GSK, November 27, 2005
MDS Nordion to supply yttrium-90 to Berlex, September 20, 2005
MDS Nordion targets drug discovery, June 28, 2005
MDS Nordion brings Cu-64 to market, June 16, 2005
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