Just ahead of the second shutdown of a nuclear reactor that produces medical isotopes, Covidien (NYSE: COV) announced a deal with Poland’s Institute of Atomic Energy to begin importing Molybdenum 99.
The isotope, used to create the medical isotope Technetium 99m used in imaging procedures, has been in scarce supply since the shutdown for repairs of the Canadian reactor that produced a third of the global supply in May 2009. A second reactor in the Netherlands is also slated to shut down for repairs Feb. 19, meaning already scant supplies of Mo 99 are about to become even rarer.