Medical isotope technology development gets $3M boost

Edmonton, AB – The University of Alberta (U of A) is receiving $3 million in funding to explore the testing and validation of processes and technologies by which medical isotopes can be manufactured. The funding comes from the federal government’s Western Economic Diversification Canada,

The funding will support the purchase and installation of a 24MeV Cyclotron. With it, researchers plan to map out and patent new medical isotopes production processes and technologies using particle accelerators.

“WD’s investment in Canadian technology will enable the University of Alberta to develop and commercialize new methods of manufacturing diagnostic medical isotopes,” said Dr Sandy McEwan, chair and professor, Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, the University of Alberta. “This cyclotron, located at the U of A will attract new researchers to the province, build knowledge capacity and lead to new training opportunities for scientists, technicians and technologists.”

The project represents an opportunity to contribute to commercializing new processes and products in isotope production. The university will also validate the development of a business model utilizing a cyclotron-based isotope production platform. The project will map out and patent medical isotope production processes and technologies and introduce them to the global marketplace. This model proposes to demonstrate the direct production of isotopes using cyclotron technology manufactured by Advanced Cyclotron Systems Inc (ACSI), based in Richmond, British Columbia.