MDS Nordion Submits Expression of Interest Proposal to Government of Canada on Medical Isotope and Generator Production
30 Luglio 2009 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
MAPLE Reactors Could Solve the Isotope Crisis within 24 months
OTTAWA, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Nordion, a leading
provider of medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, has
submitted a Proposal to the Government of Canada's Expert Review
Panel on Medical Isotope and Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) Generator
Production. MDS Nordion believes that the best answer to the
shortage of medical radioisotopes is the completion and bringing
into service of the MAPLE project. The MDS Nordion Proposal
outlines technical and regulatory requirements needed for the
provision of a secure supply of medical isotopes for the health
care system in Canada and around the world. With no domestic or
international sources of supply that can fully mitigate the current
global shortage of medical isotopes, MDS Nordion urges Atomic
Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to complete the MAPLE project to
address this shortage. With expertise and guidance from the South
African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), owner and operator of
the SAFARI-1 reactor, and working with AECL, MDS Nordion believes a
solution could be achieved in an estimated 24 months. "MDS Nordion
is a solutions oriented Company with strong technical and
regulatory expertise. We look forward to working with Necsa on the
next stages of this proposal," said Steve West, President of MDS
Nordion. "We believe this approach provides a good path forward to
bring the MAPLEs into service and provide a long-term supply of
medical isotopes for Canadians. This goal is of utmost importance
and we are also supportive of other proposals which may provide
this critical supply." Project Description MDS Nordion urges AECL
to honour its long-standing commitment to replace the National
Research Universal (NRU) by bringing the MAPLE facilities into
service. This can be done through AECL collaborating with Necsa on
the adaption of the OSCAR computer codes, which are successfully
used by the world's leading isotope producing reactors. The
computer codes are specifically designed to model research reactor
performance and operation and are being used by the High Flux
Reactor in Petten, Netherlands, and SAFARI-1, in South Africa.
Adopting the OSCAR computer codes could be essential to resolving
the existing discrepancy between the predicted and measured value
of the power coefficient of reactivity of the MAPLE reactors
allowing them to be licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety
Commission (CNSC) for safe operation. During the Standing Committee
on Natural Resources session on June 4, 2009, Mr. Peter Elder,
Director General, Directorate of Nuclear Cycle and Facilities
Regulation, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, stated "The issue
is not whether, necessarily, there's any problem with a positive
coefficient. It was a mismatch between the (value) predicted in
their safety case in the computer codes that said it should be
negative and the actual measurements in the reactor that turned out
to be positive, which means there was something in those computer
codes that was not modeling what was happening in the reactor." As
a key collaborator in the project, "Necsa is honoured to be
considered part of this important endeavour needed to secure a
stable and reliable supply of Mo-99 and Tc-99m to the market by
offering its comprehensive expertise in the physics and operation
of material test reactors and the OSCAR system to support MDS
Nordion's project proposal" stated Rob Adam, Necsa CEO in his
response to the invitation by MDS Nordion to join the MAPLE
project. In addition to the OSCAR computer codes, MDS Nordion is
proposing the construction of a fully licensed production facility
to manufacture Tc-99m generators for distribution to Canadian
hospitals in all regions of Canada and abroad. With previous
experience in this area, MDS Nordion will build, operate and
maintain the generator production line, and perform all necessary
activities; including provision of licensed packaging, consumable
supplies and facilitate transport logistics to all Canadian health
care centres. About MDS Nordion MDS Nordion, a business unit of MDS
Inc., is a global leader in providing medical isotopes for
molecular and diagnostic imaging, radiotherapeutics and
sterilization technologies for medical products that benefit the
lives of millions of people in more than 50 countries around the
world. MDS Nordion products and services are used on a daily basis
by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical-device
manufacturers, hospitals, clinics and research laboratories. Find
out more at http://www.mdsnordion.com/ About MDS MDS Inc. (TSX:
MDS; NYSE: MDZ) is a global life sciences company that provides
market-leading products and services that our customers need for
the development of drugs, and the diagnosis and treatment of
disease. We are a leading global provider of pharmaceutical
contract research, medical isotopes for molecular imaging,
radiotherapeutics, and analytical instruments. MDS has more than
4,200 highly skilled people in 13 countries. Find out more at
http://www.mdsinc.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a
day. DATASOURCE: MDS Nordion CONTACT: MEDIA: Shelley Maclean, (613)
592-3400, ext. 2414, ; INVESTORS: Kim Lee, (416) 213-4721,
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