On June 13, 2022 BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) reported that subsidiary BWXT Medical Ltd. and TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre, have executed a licensing and services agreement that strengthens their existing partnership for the production of medical isotopes (Press release, BWX Technologies, JUN 13, 2022, View Source [SID1234615945]). This agreement will enable BWXT Medical to manufacture high purity Actinium-225 (Ac-225) based products for pharmaceutical companies as it continues to build on its medical isotope production operations on the TRIUMF site.
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Ac-225 is an alpha-emitting isotope used in targeted alpha therapies that combine Ac-225 with specific tumor-seeking targeting vectors to kill metastatic cancer while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
Leveraging existing infrastructure, TRIUMF will irradiate thorium-232 targets for BWXT Medical. From this irradiated thorium, BWXT Medical will process and produce high purity Ac-225, sometimes referred to as non-carrier-added Ac-225, for commercial sale, strengthening BWXT Medical’s position as a leading global manufacturer and supplier of critical medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.
BWXT Medical intends to partner with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies who intend to develop targeted alpha therapeutics.
"We are very pleased to announce this significant deal with our partner TRIUMF, whose capabilities are truly unique in the world," said Martyn Coombs, president, BWXT Medical. "There is much excitement around targeted alpha therapeutics, which may in the future offer hope to patients where previously no hope remained. We anticipate being the first company to produce non-Russian sourced high purity Ac-225 at semi-scale, starting this summer (2022). Our intention is to partner with a small number of leading pharmaceutical companies, initially supplying the isotope, and with line-of-sight to a deeper relationship including contract development and manufacturing of the finished products."
"TRIUMF and BWXT have been producing isotopes at TRIUMF since 1978; our first therapeutic isotope produced at the Vancouver facility was palladium-103 for prostate brachytherapy. This agreement represents a key and complementary initiative to our strategy to increase the supply of Ac-225, commonly known as ‘the rarest drug on earth,’ to researchers and patients around the world," said Kathryn Hayashi, CEO of TRIUMF Innovations.
Executive Director and CEO for TRIUMF, Dr. Nigel Smith, added, "Working together to increase the supply of cancer-fighting isotopes shows the impact that TRIUMF’s cyclotron infrastructure and expertise can have on the world."