TIVERTON, Canada & GARCHING, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bruce Power, a nuclear power company and source of medical radioisotopes, and ITM Isotopen Technologien München (ITM), a specialized radiopharmaceutical group of companies, announced today that ITM´s subsidiary, Isotope Technologies Garching (ITG), and Bruce Power have signed an agreement to explore the production of the medical radioisotope no-carrier-added (n.c.a.) Lutetium-177. Lutetium-177 is used in Targeted Radionuclide Therapy to treat cancers like neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer. It destroys cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the production of n.c.a. Lutetium-177 at the Bruce Power Site. Bruce Power runs commercially operating reactors (CANDU reactors), that allow the company to meet global supply needs of Lutetium-177 through 2064. Furthermore, ITM has developed a unique methodology to produce a special form of Lutetium-177, n.c.a. Lutetium-177, which the company supplies globally under the brand name EndolucinBeta®. Because n.c.a. Lutetium-177 contains no metastable long-lived Lutetium-177m impurities, it provides the highest specific activity of all forms of the Lutetium-177 radioisotope. Its extraordinary level of radionuclidic purity ensures more effective and economical waste management, better environmental sustainability, and the best preconditions for the radiolabeling of biomolecules.
This partnership aims to meet the medical community’s growing demand for radionuclides for use in Targeted Radionuclide Therapies. N.c.a. Lutetium-177 will be produced at Bruce Power’s CANDU reactors while development, processing, and global distribution of n.c.a. Lutetium-177 will be managed by ITM.
“Bruce Power is a world leader in the production of critical radioisotopes used to treat cancer,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power’s President and CEO. “By developing innovative ways to generate these radioisotopes, we help ensure that the medical community has access to a reliable source of medical radioisotopes for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy.”
“We are looking forward to working with Bruce Power to secure a new global supply source and therefore achieve new scalability of our no-carrier-added Lutetium-177,” said Steffen Schuster, CEO of ITM. “With Bruce Power’s long-term capacity to operate its facilities through 2064 and its existing expertise with Cobalt production, we have the opportunity to provide a stable, high-quality source of Lutetium-177 to cancer patients worldwide.”
