Shine Medical Technologies and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have inked contracts covering details for production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) at the company's new facility in Janesville, WI.
The contracts are the first to be signed under the DOE's Uranium Lease and Take-back Program. Under the contracts, the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will provide Shine with the low-enriched uranium necessary to produce Mo-99, while Shine's contract with the DOE Office of Environmental Management details requirements surrounding the return of any resulting radioactive waste without a commercial disposition path once Mo-99 production is complete.
"Signing these contracts with Shine is a crucial step toward medical isotope autonomy for the United States," said Corey Hinderstein, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, in a news release.
Shine is steadily progressing toward Mo-99 production capability at its Wisconsin plant.