Areva Med opens US lead-212 production facility

Friday, 15 April 2016

Areva Med's has inaugurated its second lead-212 production facility. The plant - in Plano, Texas - will boost the company's capabilities to develop cancer treatments.

Areva Med CEO Patrick Bourdet and Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere open the new facility (Image: Areva)

Areva Med, the subsidiary of French engineering company Areva for the development of cancer treatments, announced in September 2015 that it had begun construction of its second lead-212 production facility. A ceremony was held this week to officially inaugurate the new plant.

Known as DDPU (Domestic Distribution and Purification Unit), the Plano facility will become Areva Med's headquarters in the USA. It will also host the laboratories and offices of its subsidiary, Macrocyclics, which designs and manufactures chelating agents and chemicals for nuclear medicine.

Lead-212 is used in targeted alpha therapy "in an increasing number of innovative studies to target cancer cells while limiting the impact on nearby healthy cells", Areva Med said.

In a statement, Areva Med today said the new facility - which will employ ten people - is an opportunity for it to "expand the range and increase the quality of products and services for its American partners and customers". It added, "Thanks to this increased production capacity, Areva Med will accelerate the development of innovative targeted alpha therapies using lead-212 to combat cancer."

Areva Med CEO Patrick Bourdet said, "Our new modular and unique US plant will allow us to quickly expand our cancer therapy pipeline and increase collaboration within the entire continent."

Areva announced in February 2014 the selection of Caen in northwest France as the location for its planned industrial-scale lead-212 production facility. It said that Areva Med plans to build the plant to "provide an industrial production capacity" to complement the Maurice Tubiana facility in Bessines in western France. The Maurice Tubiana facility was inaugurated in November 2013 and provides sufficient amounts of high-purity lead-212 for clinical development. The facility recovers the isotope from thorium-232.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News