Lantheus Medical Imaging has signed an agreement with Shine Medical Technologies covering the supply of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99).
Under the deal, Shine will provide Lantheus with Mo-99 produced with its proprietary process based on low-enriched uranium (LEU), an alternative to techniques based on highly enriched uranium. Lantheus will use the Mo-99 to produce its TechneLite technetium-99m generators.
Shine will begin supplying Lantheus with Mo-99 when its facility becomes operational and receives the necessary regulatory approvals, which Shine estimates will occur in early 2018. Shine's Mo-99 production process does not require a nuclear reactor and is part of an industry shift toward LEU-based isotope production processes.
Lantheus currently receives Mo-99 from four of the five major processors of the radioisotope and seven of the eight associated reactors. This is the company's first deal with a prospective U.S. supplier of Mo-99.
