Like their counterparts north of the border, U.S. radiologists will soon have access to what’s become the rarest of commodities: Molybdenum-99, in short supply since a Canadian nuclear reactor went offline.
Billerica-based Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. won Food & Drug Administration approval to begin supplying the isotope in the United States.
The FDA nod follows similar clearance from Health Canada, after Lantheus inked a deal with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization to receive Mo-99, which it will use to produce technetium-99m, another commonly used medical imaging isotope.
There’s been a dearth of the radioactive isotope worldwide since a Canadian reactor that produced a third of the global supply went offline in May.
Lantheus said it’s the first U.S. firm to offer the rare elements and should begin receiving shipments from Down Under “within the next several weeks.”