Ac-225 has shown great promise for therapeutic use in targeted alpha therapy (TAT), where an alpha-emitter is combined with a protein or antibody that specifically targets and kills cancer cells while leaving the surrounding healthy tissue unharmed. However, research and clinical trials have been hampered by very limited supplies of the isotope.

The new agreement will see the Fedoruk Centre irradiate targets of radium-226 - extracted from legacy medical waste by CNL - at the Saskatchewan Cyclotron Facility. The irradiated targets will be returned to CNL's Chalk River campus in Ontario for separation and processing. CNL will then ship the materials to German radiopharmaceutical biotech company ITM, with which it signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2021, for refinement and distribution.

Announcing the new agreement at the 11th International Conference on Isotopes in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CNL President and CEO Joe McBrearty said it has taken "many years" of work in radiochemistry, physics, engineering, waste management, remote tooling and instrumentation to reach this point, but the initiative will "dramatically" increase availability of the radioisotope to the radiopharmaceutical community. "Following a short ramp-up phase, CNL expects to produce more than 30 times the actinium-225 that it does today, enabling the necessary clinical research and testing to bring many promising new cancer treatments to life," he said.

CNL is working to position itself as a world leader and international hub for TAT and for Ac-225 production. It sees the agreement with the Fedoruk Centre as an interim step on that journey. "It is important to emphasise that this is a short-term solution that addresses an immediate need, while bringing us closer to our true goal, which is the establishment of new production capabilities so that we can fulfil the market's long-term needs together with our partner ITM," McBrearty said.