Global manufacturer Covidien, Mansfield, Mass., said it expects to begin receiving molybdenum 99 this weekend now that a Dutch nuclear reactor has completed its scheduled maintenance. A uranium byproduct, molybdenum 99, or moly-99, is used in most imaging procedures.
Concerns about a worldwide shortage of the isotope surfaced in mid-May after a
nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada—which produced one-third of the world's supply of moly-99—shut down unexpectedly. Covidien, a maker of medical devices and supplies, diagnostic imaging agents and pharmaceuticals, sent a letter to nuclear medicine professionals saying the High-Flux Reactor in Petten, the Netherlands, is back online.
“This worldwide shortage affects the entire chain … generator manufacturers, radiopharmacies, clinicians, and, most importantly, the patients,” John Collins, vice president of U.S. commercial operations for Covidien, said in the letter that was posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Web site. “Though it comes at a cost, each of us is doing our part to maximize the availability of this crucial isotope to minimize patient impact.”
The letter also said Covidien has provided a
special page on its Web site for updates about the supply of moly-99.
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