“This scale-up of production capacity of TerraPower Isotopes’ actinium-225 opens a new chapter in the development of cancer treatment options, and I’m proud to be part of the journey,” said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes. “We are proud to be the first company to provide actinium-225 at this scale, transforming how the pharmaceutical industry approaches cancer treatment with targeted alpha therapies.”
How it works: Ac-225 is used as a starting material for research and development of advanced, targeted cancer treatments and in drug trials involving targeted alpha therapy, where it has shown promise in treating metastatic cancers. It has been found that the isotope’s short half-life of 10 days makes it ideal for targeted alpha therapy.
Through further manufacturing, Ac-225 can be attached to a molecule, which can then selectively target and deliver the alpha-emitting isotope to the cancer site to potentially treat diseases such as prostate, breast, colon, and neuroendocrine cancers, as well as melanoma and lymphoma.
According to TerraPower Isotopes, Ac-225–labeled drug products, once developed and approved, can destroy cancerous tissue with minimum damage to nearby healthy cells.
Supply chain: TerraPower Isotopes has sourced its Ac-225 through a partnership with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and Isotek Systems as part of an effort to extract valuable isotopes from legacy uranium-233 stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Under the partnership, Isotek extracted thorium-229 from U-233 during downblending operations, whereby the uranium material was processed into a disposal-ready form. The recovered Th-229 was then shipped to TerraPower, which used it to produce Ac-225.
According to TerraPower Isotopes, the collaboration with Isotek reduces the cost associated with the ultimate disposal of U-233 while enabling a secure supply chain for the Ac-225 isotope.
