By Arshreet Singh
(Reuters) – The Canadian government on Tuesday announced an investment of up to C$35 million ($26.6 million) to bolster the development and production of medical isotopes in the country.
Medical isotopes are radioactive substances used in diagnostic imaging and treatment of health conditions such as heart diseases and cancer. They are produced using nuclear reactors and particle accelerators.
As part of the funding, indigenous group Saugeen Ojibway Nation will collaborate with Bruce Power, which supplies 30% of Ontario’s power through its private nuclear generator, to jointly produce and market new isotopes.
Already a leading supplier of Cobalt-60 for sterilizing single-use medical devices, Bruce Power aims to ramp up production of Lutetium-177, which is used in advanced prostate cancer treatment.
“We will be expanding production (of Lutetium-177) to double it by 2024-2025,” Bruce Power Chief Executive Michael Rencheck told Reuters.
The nuclear generation site in Ontario has eight reactors, out of which medical isotopes are currently produced at only one reactor. “Scalability is quite large,” said Rencheck, adding that with declining acceptance of Russian-made isotopes, there is room for growth.
Canada’s oil and gas transportation firm TC Energy owns a 48.4% ownership stake in Bruce Power.
($1 = 1.318 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Arshreet Singh; Editing by Maju Samuel)
