The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) completed one more step toward dispersing funds to three prospective producers of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) without the need for highly enriched uranium.
Negotiations for the financial awards began in February to qualify the manufacturers and their processes. Based on the evaluations and recommendations of an independent panel, the awards are slated for the following manufacturers:
- Niowave of Lansing, MI
- NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes of Beloit, WI
- Shine Medical Technologies of Janesville, WI
Negotiations for a fourth cooperative agreement with Northwest Medical Isotopes of Corvallis, OR, are continuing.
NNSA will fund each agreement at $15 million and require each recipient to provide $15 million of matching funds. The U.S. Congress earmarked $40 million for the funds in fiscal year 2018 and $20 million in fiscal year 2019 to supply approximately 3,000 six-day curies per week of Mo-99, the precursor to technetium-99m (Tc-99m), and lessen the dependence on foreign sources.
