China - November 25, 2024 China ramps up medical isotope production to reduce reliance on imports (Voice_over) Construction of China's first solution-type medical isotope test reactor is under way in Sichuan Province. Once complete in 2027, the center will produce two of the most commonly used medical isotopes, idodine-131, which are used to detect thyroid cancer and molybdenum-99 which is used to diagnose heart disease and other cancers. In building the reactor, China hopes to cut its longstanding reliance on imports of medical isotopes. (Sound_bite) Wang Xiaobing, Technical director, First Research Institute, Nuclear Power Institute of China: "The domestic demand for molybdenum-99 is around 22,000 curies per year, all of which are obtained as imports. The demand for iodine-131 was about 20,000 curies in 2023, 80 percent of which came from imports. After the completion of this project, the annual production capacity of molybdenum-99 and iodine-131 will reach 100,000 curies 20,000 curies respectively." (Voice_over) Meanwhile, the country is quickly catching up in the production of other niche isotopes like Lutetium-177, which is widely used for cancer treatment. (Sound_bite) Shen Guangming, staff, First Research Institute, Nuclear Power Institute of China: "In China, dozens of nuclear medicine based on lutetium-177 are in the stage of development or clinic trials. When they got approved, the demand for the lutetium-177 will reach tens of thousands of curies every year. When this production line is put into use, its annual production capacity could reach 10,000 curies." (Voice_over) The global supply of medical isotopes currently relies on nuclear reactors in Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. According to a recent report from Allied Market Research, the global medical isotope market size is expected to be valued at around 11.4 billion U.S. dollars by the year 2032. [Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]