BWX Technologies, Inc. announced on Wednesday that the company is planning to produce the medical radioisotope Germanium-68 (Ge-68) with a focus on addressing a growing global demand for the product.
“BWXT is in an excellent position to be able to respond to the market’s growing demand for this critical radioisotope,†said Rex D. Geveden, BWXT’s president and chief executive officer. “We acquired the medical isotope business just over a year ago, and we are very pleased with this business and its growing portfolio of products.â€
BWXT’s isotope technologies group in Canada has developed proprietary manufacturing technology to produce high purity Ge-68 and is in the process of scaling up its capacity to move into full production in 2020 to address growing global customer demands.
Ge-68 will be produced using cyclotrons at BWXT’s Vancouver facility located on the TRIUMF site. TRIUMF, which is Canada’s particle accelerator center, and BWXT’s medical isotopes group have been working together to support medical isotope production for over 40 years.
BWXT’s Ge-68 product will be used in Gallium-68 (Ga-68) generators, a source of the diagnostic radioisotope Ga-68. Using specific disease-targeting molecules, Ga-68 provides diagnoses and enables treatment planning using positron emission tomography (PET).
Ge-68 is the third new medical radioisotope development project underway at BWXT.
About BWX Technologies
Headquartered in Lynchburg, Va., BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) is a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government; provides technical and management services to support the U.S. government in the operation of complex facilities and environmental remediation activities; and supplies precision manufactured components, services and fuel for the commercial nuclear power industry.
With approximately 6,350 employees, BWXT has 11 major operating sites in the U.S. and Canada. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities.
