NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes broke ground on a new 50,000 square-foot facility in Wisconsin as phase one of the company’s plan to develop a 32-acre corporate campus. The building will support NorthStar’s work at the University of Missouri Research Reactor to develop a domestic source of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), the parent isotope of technetium-99m (Tc-99m), the most widely used radioisotope in medical imaging.
All Mo-99 is currently manufactured using highly enriched uranium at locations outside the United States, raising national security concerns and causing production shortages. NorthStar is exploring two non-uranium- and non-fission-based production processes that generate only benign waste streams. If successful, the project would mark the first domestic source of Mo-99 since 1990.
Diane M. Hendricks, owner and chairman of Hendricks Holding Co, one of NorthStar’s major investors, said, “Not only will NorthStar create jobs and economic development in Beloit and the surrounding area, it is developing exciting new technologies and processes that will help improve patient care, advance important medical research and alleviate safety and national security concerns.”
The new facility will be used to provide additional processes, packaging, and products, as well as completion and testing of the RadioGenix intelligent isotope separation system. Phase two could include construction of a building as large as 110,000 square feet, while phase three would incorporate construction of a linear accelerator facility and additional buildings to accommodate the company’s growth. NorthStar plans to relocate its headquarters, currently in Madison, Wis, to the Beloit, Wis campus.
For more information, visit NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes.
