A newly built radiopharmaceuticals production complex in Bolivia, built with the assistance of the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom, has started supplying radiopharmaceuticals last month to the network of nuclear medicine centres in the country, according to a Rosatom announcement.  

The ceremony to mark the launch of supplies of radiopharmaceutical fludeoxyglucose was also attended by the Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora. 

The statement said that this cyclotron complex which, as of now, is the only one of its kind in Latin America, is part of a landmark project being implemented under the framework of Russo-Bolivian cooperation.  

“The Cyclotron Complex is part of the Center for Nuclear Technology Research and Development (CNTRD), the landmark project implemented in the framework of the bilateral cooperation between Russia and Bolivia. The CNTRD is being constructed in El Alto, at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level,” the statement said. 

“The facility benefits the national healthcare system as it provides domestic production of the whole range of radiopharmaceuticals required for clinical examination of over 5,000 patients a year. This means that Bolivian citizens in need of advanced and timely nuclear diagnostics won’t have to go abroad to receive it. In future, the facility will allow the substitution of all the radiopharmaceuticals which Bolivia has to import now,” it added.  

Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora said at the event: “From now on, not only do we have a nuclear medicine center with the most advanced infrastructure, but also, we can produce our own radiopharmaceuticals for cancer diagnostics, which until today we have had to import. Currently, Bolivia has such advanced technologies that we may even consider exporting radiopharmaceuticals to our neighboring countries. From now on, we will be able to fight cancer even more effectively.” 

Rosatom’s First Deputy Director General for Development and International Business, Kirill Komarov, noted that the CNTRD was already bringing practical benefits to the people of the country. 

“With the help of Rosatom’s specialists, Bolivia is now becoming one of the region’s leaders in the field of nuclear technology application,” Komarov said.  

The CNTRD is an innovative project that brings together cutting-edge nuclear technologies for healthcare, agriculture and many other sectors. The first and second phases of the project, consisting of the Cyclotron-Radiopharmacological-Preclinical Complex (CRPC) and the Multipurpose Irradiation Center (MIC), have already been completed, while construction and installation work is going on for stages 3 and 4, which include the research reactor and laboratory buildings.  

The project is expected to be completed by 2025, Rosatom said.