Moosey the article that I shared yesterday provides an interesting history on US efforts to remove their reliance on foreign sources of medical isotopes.
They seem to be relying on the Dutch in particular which is about to shut down their facility for maintenance. That's going to disrupt global supply and remind all western governments we don't have enough manufacturing capacity.
The article says "The American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 directed DOE/NNSA to implement a technology-neutral program in cooperation with private companies. Congress appropriated $40 million for these awards in 2018, and $20 million in 2019, and directed the DOE to competitively award cooperative agreements. NNSA was to fund each agreement at $15 million and require each awardee to provide $15 million of matching funds.
Of the five companies given awards, only one—NorthStar—started production, though that was quickly halted. "
The artcile goes on to say "Congress appropriated $50 million in new funding for Mo-99 cooperative agreements to help expedite stable domestic production of the isotope. Following an independent merit review, NNSA reallocated $32 million in funding to the SHINE cooperative agreement in June 2024.
The federal government recognizes that subsidized reactors overseas have a price advantage, so Postman said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes replacing the add-on payment given for using Tc-99m produced in reactors that do not use HEU with a new add-on payment related to domestic Mo-99 production. He said this will be starting in 2026.
Postman said the NNSA expects to decide on additional allocations of the newly appropriated Mo-99 funding by early 2025."
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