Manitoba company gets grant to produce medical isotopes

A Manitoba research team has been awarded a national grant to create medical isotopes for all of Canada.

Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise has been given a $7.46 million dollar grant to develop medical isotopes in Winnipeg to serve the entire Canadian market.

The isotopes are used in about 80 per cent of medical scans, including those used to detect cancer and heart disease.

Previously, isotopes could only be produced using nuclear reactors, but in February 2012, researchers in British Columbia developed a way to create the isotopes using cyclotrons, small particle-accelerators.

Now, Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise will produce the isotopes (known as technetium-99) using linear accelerators locally.

In 2009, Canada pulled out of producing isotopes using nuclear reactors, and in 2010 there was a global shortage of medical isotopes.

The company now hopes to produce enough isotopes at the facility to supply all of Canada.