MONTREAL — While the market for medical radioisotopes for diagnostic purposes is growing, Isologic Radiopharmaceutiques Novateurs is investing $29.9 million to secure the supply chain in Quebec.
Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive isotopes linked to molecules capable of targeting certain cells in the human body. They are used in imaging technologies to diagnose several diseases, including cancers, stroke and Alzheimer’s.
Isologic Radiopharmaceutiques Novateurs is the leading supplier of PET (positron emission tomography) radioisotopes to hospitals in Quebec and Ontario that use nuclear medicine. The company also serves certain customers in New Brunswick and Vancouver.
Approximately $19 million will be used to expand the site in the Lachine borough, in Montreal, and $11 million will be dedicated to the purchase of equipment, including an 18mv cyclotron.
Cyclotrons are particle accelerators, devices that propel charged particles to very high speeds using electromagnetic fields. They are used to produce radioisotopes used to manufacture radiopharmaceuticals.
This nuclear medicine market is increasing significantly in Quebec, according to the president of Isologic, André Gagnon.
He explains that the products he manufactures have a two-hour half-life, meaning they lose roughly half of their effectiveness in two hours. “A radioactive product decays naturally,” says Mr. Gagnon. The product we use (…) over time it reduces a lot. So we have to produce constantly to be able to serve the population.”
PET radioisotopes technically have a 12-hour expiration, but after seven or eight hours they can no longer be used because the injection volumes would be much too high, explains Mr. Gagnon.
As Canada is a large country with a small population, distribution challenges are significant. “Whatever we can produce locally becomes very important,” he says.
The new cyclotron will provide redundancy and, above all, production capacity, says Mr. Gagnon. “Because in our environment, more and more new drugs are arriving and we would not have the capacity to make these drugs, whether for breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, etc. We expect to see an increase in the use of these products in the future.”
Eventually, Isologic could produce molecules for theranostics, an emerging nuclear medicine for the treatment of cancer. “If I have a molecule that is capable of locating itself in a cancer in a precise manner, imagine if I put a molecule that is capable of treating or killing the surrounding cells or tumors. “Processing is the future of our community,” says Mr. Gagnon.
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