US-based Serva Energy has developed a reactor-based production method to ramp up the supply of actinium-225 (Ac-225), a cancer-killing radioisotope the company said is in “ultra-high demand” by oncology researchers and pharmaceutical companies developing targeted alpha therapies (TATs) – a promising step forward in the fight against cancer.
The Arizona company said the milestone marks the first time a commercial entity has employed a conventional nuclear research reactor to produce the life-saving TAT radioisotope – allowing for dozens of existing research reactors around the world to collaborate with Serva on increasing production of Ac-225 without huge capital investments or delays for construction.