BWX Technologies anticipates regulatory approval and initial revenue in the first quarter of 2021 for its generators for the medical isotope technetium-99m, according to its latest financial presentation.
The Lynchburg, Va., company, better known as a contractor for the Departments of Defense and Energy, in 2018 took aim at what it says is a $400 million global business for the isotope, which is used in medical imaging procedures including diagnosing cancers and heart disease.
In May, BWXT announced development of a new approach for generating molybdenum-99, which decays into technetium-99m, along with new generators for the daughter isotope. In July, the company closed its $213 million acquisition of the medical isotopes business of Canadian health company Nordion. That deal brought about 150 employees and two facilities, in Kanata, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia, under the umbrella of BWXT’s Nuclear Power business.
The isotopes business has largely been integrated into BWXT’s operations, according to the company.
“We … remain focused on bringing our proprietary radioisotope technology to market as medical radioisotopes become the first major product line addition to BWXT in more than 25 years,” CEO Rex Geveden said on Feb. 26 during BWXT’s quarterly earnings call with financial analysts.
The company has said it will this year file for regulatory approval for the generators. It met with officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the fourth quarter of 2018 to discuss its application, according to a slide from the earnings presentation.
In 2019, BWXT will complete design and production of access equipment that will enable insertion and extraction of molybdenum-99 targets in CANDU reactors at Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, where they will be irradiated for use in the technetium-99m generators. The equipment is scheduled to be placed in the plant in the first and second quarters of 2020. Irradiation of test batches is scheduled for the third quarter of the year.
The generators themselves will be produced at the Kanata facility, where modifications are due to be completed by the end of this year.
