Tag Archives: Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization

Recycling your cyclotron—medical isotopes for everyone—a step forward

Last year on June 9, 2013 Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, TRIUMF, announced a better way to produce medical isotopes. From my June 9, 2013 posting,

The possibility medical isotopes could be produced with cyclotrons  is dazzling, especially in light of the reports a few years ago when it was discovered that the Chalk River facility (Ontario, Canada), the source for one 1/3 of the world’s medical isotopes, was badly deteriorated (my July 2, 2010 posting). Today, Sunday, June 9, 2013, TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, and its partners announced that they have devised a technique for producing medical isotopes that is not dependent on materials from nuclear reactors.  …

“The approach taken by our consortium has established the feasibility of producing appreciable quantities of Tc-99m on Canada’s existing cyclotron network. These same machines are also producing additional isotopes used in a growing number of alternative imaging procedures. The net effect is that Canada will remain on the forefront of medical-isotope technology for the foreseeable future,” said John Valliant, Scientific Director and CEO of the CPDC in Hamilton.

Exactly one year later on June 9, 2014 the team responsible for this new means of producing medical isotopes presented an update of their work at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s (SNMMI) annual conference (from a June 9, 2014 TRIUMF news release),,

… a Canadian team with members from TRIUMF, the BC Cancer Agency, the Centre for Probe Development & Commercialization, and Lawson Health Research Institute announced that they have dramatically advanced technology for addressing the medical-isotope crisis.  The key medical isotope, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), can now be produced in meaningful quantities on the world’s most popular cyclotrons, many of which are already installed across Canada and around the world.

Patients, doctors, and hospitals have been concerned about a supply shortage of the workhorse medical isotopes used in cardiac tests and cancer scans as the world moves away from uranium-based nuclear reactors to create these exotic, short-lived, life-saving compounds.  The Canadian team has demonstrated the successful production of Tc-99m on a standard cyclotron manufactured by GE Healthcare, confirming that this alternative technology can be used by roughly half of the world’s already-installed cyclotrons. [emphasis mine]

Speaking for the consortium, Dr. Frank Prato of the Lawson Health Research Institute said, “This achievement is based on the efforts of the entire team and showcases our progress; we have a technology that can be applied in jurisdictions across Canada and around the world to produce this important isotope.”

Last summer [2013], the team set a world record for production of the critical isotope, Tc-99m, on a Made-in-Canada medical cyclotron; today, the team showed record production of Tc-99m using a GE [General Electric] PETtrace cyclotron at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario.  This demonstration, along with the work being done at a similar GE cyclotron in Hamilton, ON, validates the business proposition that conventional cyclotrons around the world can be upgraded to produce Tc-99m for their region.

The Government of Canada has articulated an intention to shift away from reactor-based production of medical isotopes in order to diversify the supply, remove uranium from the supply chain, and halt Canadian taxpayer subsidization of isotopes used in other countries.  [emphasis mine] Through a sequence of programs at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and now Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian government has invested in the research, development, and deployment of alternative accelerator-based technologies for the production of Tc-99m.

Next steps in deploying this technology for Canadian patients will include regulatory approval and working with provincial governments to make the choices required to diversify the supply chain and strengthen healthcare systems.  The Canadian team is working to license its proprietary technology and to be positioned to market and supply the essential ingredients to cyclotrons around the world to enable their Tc-99m production.

It’s good to know that this technology allows cyclotrons around the world to be used in the production of medical isotopes. I imagine it’s a great relief know you won’t have to rely on some other country’s production facilities. However, it would have nice to have seen a little less chest-beating. Yes, this technology was developed in Canada but you don’t have to keep repeating Canada/Canadian over and over and over.

As for the Government of Canada’s intention to “halt Canadian taxpayer subsidization of isotopes used in other countries,” that seems somewhat harsh, although not out of line with the Harper government’s ethos.

I hope some thought has been applied to the implications of this policy as it is implemented. For example, do all the countries that need and use medical isotopes produced in Canada have their own cyclotrons? If so, will they be forced to purchase Canadian technology? And, what about the countries that don’t have their own cyclotrons? Are they going to be left out in the cold?

As for taxpayers and subsidies, it should be noted that TRIUMF and, at least one of its partners, BC [British Columbia] Cancer Agency are heavily supported by taxpayers. For example, there’s this Feb. 11, 2014 TRIUMF funding announcement,

In its Economic Action Plan for 2014-2015 released today, the Government of Canada has renewed its commitment to TRIUMF’s existing world-leading research and international partnership activities. The budget secures a base level for existing operations, proposing $222 million for the five years beginning 2015-2016. [emphasis mine]  The announcement of this commitment comes a year in advance and gives TRIUMF a six-year planning horizon for the first time, a strategic advantage for Canada in the highly competitive world of international science.

If I understand things correctly, this is their base funding. There are many other programs and instances where TRIUMF gets additional funding as per this May 21, 2014 posting about a new NSERC program and its funding award to TRIUMF for the ISOSIM program which is jointly run with the University of British Columbia.

Getting back to this latest news release, it seems clear the consortium will be selling this technology although there’s no mention as to how this will be done. Have they created a company with this one mission in mind or are they going to make use of a business entity that is already in existence? And, should this be a successful endeavour, will taxpayers see their support/investment returned to them? Given the Canadian business model, it is much more likely that the company will be grown to a point where it becomes an attractive purchase to a business entity based in another country.

Dazzling possibilities for creating medical isotopes

The possibility medical isotopes could be produced with cyclotrons  is dazzling, especially in light of the reports a few years ago when it was discovered that the Chalk River facility (Ontario, Canada), the source for one 1/3 of the world’s medical isotopes, was badly deteriorated (my July 2, 2010 posting). Today, Sunday, June 9, 2013, TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, and its partners announced that they have devised a technique for producing medical isotopes that is not dependent on materials from nuclear reactors. From the June 9, 2013 TRIUMF news release,

With Canadian-developed tools and technology, a national team led by TRIUMF has reached a crucial milestone at the BC Cancer Agency in developing and deploying alternatives for supplying key medical isotopes. The team used a medical cyclotron that was designed and manufactured by Advanced Cyclotron Systems, Inc. (ACSI) of Richmond, BC, and successfully achieved large-scale production of technetium-99m (Tc-99m), sufficient for a metropolitan area.

The team announced the successful ramp-up of its technology to regularly produce enough of the critical Tc-99m isotope to supply an urban area the size of Vancouver. This achievement eliminates the need for nuclear reactors to produce isotopes, especially those that use weaponsgrade uranium, which has been the traditional approach.

Of course, the metropolitan area will need its own cyclotron and the technology has yet to be proven in an industrial-grade production facility. The news release goes on to explain the situation with medical isotopes,

Each year, tens of millions of medical procedures are conducted around the world with Tc-99m, an isotope used in radiopharmaceuticals for imaging disease in the heart, bones, and elsewhere in the body. Two aging nuclear reactors produce about three quarters of the global supply; one of them is the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Chalk River, Ontario. In the past few years, both reactors have suffered maintenance and repair outages, threatening the global supply of medical isotopes.

Here are some more technical details about the project,

“The approach taken by our consortium has established the feasibility of producing appreciable quantities of Tc-99m on Canada’s existing cyclotron network. These same machines are also producing additional isotopes used in a growing number of alternative imaging procedures. The net effect is that Canada will remain on the forefront of medical-isotope technology for the
foreseeable future,” said John Valliant, Scientific Director and CEO of the CPDC in Hamilton.

In February 2012, the TRIUMF-led team demonstrated that the production of Tc-99m was possible on existing medical cyclotrons based in BC and Ontario. After a year of scaling up performance and making engineering improvements to target fabrication, control, and purification procedures, the team has achieved its next milestone: the production of enough Tc-99m in a six hour overnight shift at the BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Centre to supply the demands of a metropolitan area (roughly equivalent to 10 Curies). The next milestones for TRIUMF and its partners include engineering optimization and regulatory approval.

As for the future (from the news releases),

Commenting on the path forward, TRIUMF’s director Nigel Lockyer said, “Having cleared this technical hurdle, we are well on our way to assembling the right team to make a competitive proposal to join the BC supply chain for medical isotopes such as technetium-99m. I look forward to working with existing and new partners, including ACSI, in making this possible.”

For those who are curious about the partners,

About TRIUMF

TRIUMF is Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics. Together with its partner AAPS, Inc., TRIUMF also seeks to commercialize its technologies for the benefit of all Canadians. Located on the south campus of the University of British Columbia, TRIUMF receives operating support from the Government of Canada through a contribution agreement via National Research Council Canada; the Government of British Columbia provides capital for new buildings. TRIUMF is owned and operated as a joint venture by a consortium of the following Canadian universities: University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, Carleton University, University of Guelph, University of Manitoba, McGill University, McMaster University, Université de Montréal, University of Northern British Columbia, Queen’s University, University of Regina, Saint Mary’s University, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Winnipeg, and York University. For more information, please visit us at http://www.triumf.ca.

About ACSI

In 2003, Ebco Industries—using technology licensed from world-renowned subatomic-physics research centre, TRIUMF—founded ACSI with a goal to revolutionize cyclotron design. Since then, ACSI has specialized in producing advanced cyclotrons that can meet the world’s growing isotope needs. As part of the Government of Canada’s Isotope Technology Acceleration Program (ITAP), ACSI is a member of a consortium funded alongside the TRIUMF team to develop viable alternatives to nuclear reactor-produced medical isotopes. For more information, please visit us at http://www.advancedcyclotron.com.

About the BC Cancer Agency

The BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority, is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality from cancer, and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program for the people of British Columbia by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care at the BC Cancer Agency.

About the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization

The Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) discovers, develops and distributes molecular imaging probes for the early diagnosis of diseases and to assess the effectiveness of treatments. An important part of Ontario’s health system, CPDC provides a reliable, daily supply of imaging probes to hospitals across the province. CPDC also works collaboratively with industry and academic partners, offering the research, manufacturing and regulatory expertise needed to move innovative probe technology and new therapeutic drugs from R&D labs to clinical use. CPDC, located on the McMaster University Campus, is a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research, part of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Program. It is supported by the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, GE Healthcare, Cancer
Care Ontario, and McMaster University.

About Lawson Health Research Institute

Lawson Health Research Institute, located in London, Ontario, is one of Canada’s largest and most respected hospital-based research institutes. As the research arm of London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, and working in partnership with The University of Western Ontario, Lawson is committed to furthering scientific knowledge to advance health care around the world. Its state-of-the-art, 6,000 sq. ft. Cyclotron & PET Radiochemistry Facility opened on March 31, 2010 and includes a GE PETtrace 880 cyclotron with proton and deuteron acceleration capability, class 100 shielded hot cells, and automated chemistry units for producing F-18 and C-11 radiopharmaceuticals – all to GMP specifications.

Exciting stuff!