Lantheus Medical Imaging has signed an agreement with the Institute for Radioelements (IRE) of Fleurus, Belgium, for the future supply of xenon-133 gas.
Under terms of the deal, IRE will provide bulk xenon-133 to Lantheus for processing and finishing. The company expects to begin commercial production in 2016.
Lantheus is currently the only U.S. manufacturer of the gas, which is an inhaled radiopharmaceutical imaging agent used to evaluate pulmonary function. It's used to image the lungs and to assess cerebral blood flow, according to the firm.
In terms of current supply, xenon-133 will not be available for the two weeks of May 11 and May 18 due to required inspection and maintenance of the Canadian National Research Universal (NRU) reactor, the company said. It anticipates that normal xenon-133 manufacturing and distribution will begin again following the restart of the reactor.
