WINNIPEG, MB – Medical isotopes are an essential tool used in tests to detect cancers and heart illnesses that tens of thousands of Canadians require annually. A unique private-public Manitoba partnership consisting of industry experts, academic researchers and health professionals is ready to help solve the shortage of isotopes in the Canadian market with an affordable plan that could be up and running in just three years. The Manitoba plan is unique in that it uses electron accelerator technology rather than full-scale nuclear reactors.
Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise (PIPE) is a non-profit corporation formed by The University of Winnipeg and includes Acsion Industries and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. The team manufactured a sample of Mo-99 radioisotopes in mid-October, further strengthening the feasibility of the $35 million Manitoba plan. The federal government is poised to select and fund new isotope production plans across the country following the launch of a process last June to find for alternatives to replace supply from the deteriorating Chalk River nuclear facility.
“This test demonstrates that we can produce the necessary Mo-99 radioisotopes to be a solution for Canada,” said Dr. Jeff Martin, University of Winnipeg physicist and a lead member of the PIPE team. “Based on this we are confident that we will be able to produce a significant portion of the country’s medical isotope supply. Through the success of this R&D program, we’ve therefore achieved a significant milestone towards the development of radiopharmaceuticals based on our product.”
“PIPE is moving forward and has now assembled a Board of Directors, a team of technical advisors and a demonstrated ability to manufacture radioisotopes,” said Chris Saunders, President of Acsion Industries. “We look forward to working with the federal government to deliver a cost-effective solution for Canada’s health care system.”
Major advantages of the Manitoba accelerator solution compared to nuclear reactors include a lack of nuclear waste, the speed with which it can be operational (three to five years) and significantly lower costs- $35 million rather than $500 million to $1.5 billion.
The Expert Panel highlighted that the benefits that would stem from an accelerator process “are significant enough to justify investment in an R&D program”. PIPE is now defining a detailed research program, which will include the technical areas suggested by the Panel.
If selected by the federal government, the Manitoba team would start producing isotopes at the Whiteshell Laboratories in Pinawa and eventually UWinnipeg could locate a new accelerator at the state-of-the art Science Complex and Richardson College for the Environment, which is slated to open in the spring of 2011.
The Manitoba solution is intended to solve the Canadian shortage of medical isotopes. The cost-effective technology developed here could then be exported to the international market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer,
The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135, E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
