NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes has received and installed a specialized device that can produce a radioactive material used in certain cancer therapies.
The company recently announced the custom-built electron beam accelerator was delivered and installed at its Beloit facility, which will be dedicated to producing the therapeutic radioisotope called actinium-225.
According to a release from NorthStar, this substance is used in clinical studies for targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy, which can destroy cancerous cells with radiation while avoiding healthy cells. While Ac-225 is gaining popularity among medical experts for this type of therapy, current availability is “inadequate” for clinical trials, research and commercial application due to production limitations, the company says.
“Delivery of this electron beam accelerator brings NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes a step closer to commercial production of Ac-225 and marks a tremendous milestone event for NorthStar, nuclear medicine and patient health,” CEO Stephen Merrick said in the release.
The company says development of the Beloit facility is “well underway” and plans to begin production on Ac-225 later this year or in early 2024. Merrick says the company expects to submit its drug master file to the FDA next year, and can begin to provide the material to its customers once it’s accepted.
Merrick said NorthStar has “production capacity to meet all customer needs from research through commercialization, and we can readily scale up further as market demand increases.”
By using the electron accelerator to produce the Ac-225, the company can avoid “long-lived radioactive byproducts” created by other production methods, the release shows. These byproducts can “pose regulatory and waste management challenges for hospitals, health systems and other healthcare institutions,” the company says.
See more details in the release: https://www.northstarnm.com/northstar-medical-radioisotopes-receives-electron-beam-accelerator-for-first-of-its-kind-commercial-scale-u-s-production-of-important-therapeutic-radioisotope-actinium-225-ac-225/#
See an earlier story on the company: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2022/northstar-announces-new-contract-development-and-manufacturing-business-unit/
–By Alex Moe
