Shine Medical Technologies said last week in an SEC filing that it raised $27.2 million in a round of debt financing. Over 200 investors have contributed to the $29 million offering, which made its 1st sale on October 11, 2013.
Monona, Wis.-based Shine Medical makes radioactive isotopes for medical diagnostic purposes such as detecting and treating cancer, according to the company’s website. Its primary product is molybdenum-99, a parent isotope to the light-emitting element, technetium-99m, which is given to nearly 50,000 Americans every day to diagnose cancer and heart disease. Technetium-99m is used in over 80% of nuclear diagnostic procedures around the world, Shine wrote.
The company also produces iodine-131 to treat thyroid cancer and other abnormal thyroid conditions, and to diagnose liver function, renal blood flow and urinary tract obstruction.
Shine Medical has not released a statement with information on how it plans to spend the newly-raised funds.
In January last year, the company raised $11.5 million in a round of debt financing. A month later, it won clearance from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct a 57,000 square foot medical isotope manufacturing facility in Janesville, Wisc. The company said it’s the only U.S. medical isotope producer to have reached this permission stage with the NRC since 1960.
The approval follows 4 years of data collection and safety analysis between Shine and the NRC. “Shine diligently followed the clear regulatory path provided by the NRC, resulting in the regulatory clearance to build our facility in Janesville,” regulatory affairs and quality VP Jim Costedio said in a press release.
The company’s work is supported by the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s molybdenum-99 program, which seeks to develop reliable and sustainable domestic production of molybdenum-99 without using highly enriched uranium.