November 03, 2015

Canadian Companies Sign Medical Isotope MOU

By ExchangeMonitor

Two Canadian companies announced last week that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to ensure a fresh, ongoing supply of medical-grade cobalt 60.

Ontario atomic energy provider Bruce Power already partners with medical isotope specialist Nordion for production of cobalt 60 used for sterilizing medical equipment. The new MOU will expand that collaboration to encompass high specific activity cobalt 60, which is currently produced in limited amounts worldwide for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, according to a Bruce Power press release.

Nordion for more than 60 years has largely obtained its medical-grade cobalt from the National Research Universal reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, which is also a key provider of the isotopesmolybdenum-99 and technetium-99m. The Canadian government is scheduled next year to halt funding for the reactor, which Bruce Power said has only a few years remaining in its operational life.

Terms of the agreement were not made public.

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