Australia is bidding to triple its production of radiopharmaceuticals and become a major world supplier as it breaks ground on a new $168 million nuclear medicine facility, according to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
The country will triple its production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), the raw material for technetium-99m (Tc-99m), which is used in hospitals and other medical facilities to diagnose cancers, heart disease, and musculoskeletal conditions, ANSTO said.
The Australian government's investment in the facility has positioned the country as a global leader in the manufacture of nuclear medicine radiopharmaceuticals, said Australian Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane on a recent visit to the site at the southwestern Sydney campus of ANSTO.
Mo-99 is used in an estimated 45 million procedures worldwide every year, and demand is growing, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the organization.
The site includes the manufacturing plant, as well as a waste treatment plant to treat by-products for permanent, safe storage at a national waste repository, ANSTO said. If required approvals are obtained, the project should be operational by 2016.
