Most neutron-produced medical isotopes are generated at a small handful of ageing fission reactors around the world, of which a number will be decommissioned by 2030 resulting in 64% of global medical isotope production going offline. There are only a couple of new reactors being developed and they will not be able to replace the lost production capacity. 

These outdated models of isotope production require the transport of these critical medicines to end-users throughout countries and across borders. This transport process can cause up to 87.5% of activity lost through radioactive decay before even reaching a radiopharmacy.

The UK and many other countries are 100% importers of neutron-produced medical isotopes. This represents a security of supply concern for governments interested in ensuring that their populations receive the best possible access to cancer diagnostics and treatment. 

Our future facilities will be agnostic toward the type of isotopes that we will be able to manufacture, allowing us to follow market trends and nimbly respond to customer needs. In the near future, we are looking to demonstrate, and then scale, production of Iodine-131, Lutetium-177, and later Actinium-225 amongst a few others.

Astral's compact technology can be deployed to decentralize medical isotope production into smaller distributed facilities ensuring a more resilient supply chain. 

• • Enabling domestic supply to reduce reliance on global supply chains vulnerable to crises or system shocks.

  • Reducing the time spent between the production source and patient, thus reducing isotope wastage due to decay.

  • Distributing production around a country to provide wider access to nuclear medicine, particularly in traditionally underserved communities.

  • Increasing access and decreasing costs for nuclear medicine researchers and clinicians to explore the use of shorter-lived or exotic isotopes for more effective procedures and applications.