In Wisconsin, hopes rise for production of a lifesaving radioactive isotope

Plans are taking shape for a $100 million facility in Janesville, WI, to produce molybdenum-99 (moly-99), a key radioactive isotope used to detect cancer and other serious diseases. Although it is the backbone of nuclear medicine imaging, uranium is used to manufacture moly-99 at just six government-owned sites, all outside of North America. Once transported to the United States, moly-99 is distributed to specialized pharmacies that convert it into a diagnostic material called technetium-99. Hospitals and other medical facilities anxiously await receipt of the imaging agent, whose half-life of just 6 hours means that any supply glitch can result in wasted money and useless doses. The half-life of moly-99 is just 66 hours. The Janesville facility promises to shore up the supply against potential shortages and avoid some of the risks of transporting the material internationally. It could take years to bring the project to fruition, however, considering the complex nature of putting a nuclear facility in the heart of America's dairyland and that builder SHINE Medical Technologies has received only a fraction of the necessary funding. "You cannot just open a shop down the street and start nuclear medicine," says Andrei Iaragu, MD, who heads the division of nuclear medicine at Stanford Health Care. "The public comes with an expectation that if my oncologist wants me to get a bone scan, it's not a big deal. But the truth is, it's a big deal."