Bruce Power successfully produces medical isotopes in a new production system

Bruce Power has successfully produced medical grade isotopes in its new production system.

In a statement, Bruce Power says a partnership between them, Isogen and Isotope Technologies Munich SE (ITM), today announced a milestone marking the first instance of Lutetium-177, a short-lived medical isotope, produced in a commercial nuclear reactor. This was done using a new Isotope Production System (IPS) that was installed in Bruce Power Unit 7 during a recent planned maintenance outage. Lutetium-177 is a “medical isotope used in precision oncology for the targeted treatment of a growing number of cancers. Lutetium-177 treatments are designed to precisely target malignant cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

Bruce Power will commercialize the new isotope through a partnership with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, which includes an equity stake in SON and a revenue-sharing program that provides direct benefit to the community. The isotopes will be shared with medical facilities around the world.

“Bruce Power and our partners at Isogen, ITM and Saugeen Ojibway Nation are thrilled to have reached this exciting milestone, bringing our partnership project to its final stages as we complete commissioning and approach commercial operations,” shares James. Scongack, director of development for Bruce Power. Officer and Executive Vice President, Operational Services. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of years of hard work by hundreds of dedicated people and we are proud to demonstrate the power of Bruce Power’s CANDU reactors to deliver reliable, large-scale production of essential medical isotopes for use in the fight against cancer. ”