Canadian Isotope Innovation of Saskatoon, or CIIC, and Iotron Medical are collaborating to produce the radioisotope copper-67 (Cu-67) for new cancer therapies. This partnership will increase the production capacity of the  Saskatoon facilities, making Cu-67 more widely available to international cancer researchers.

CIIC is a startup company, producing medical radioisotopes using a linear accelerator-based method initially developed at the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan campus.

The company says that Cu-67 has long been known for its excellent properties for personalized cancer therapy but has been extremely difficult to produce with sufficient quantity and purity using nuclear reactors or cyclotrons.  That, has prevented medical researchers from exploring the potential of Cu-67 in new targeted cancer therapies.

The two companies have established the world’s first private sector producer and supplier of this radioisotope. Iotron and CIIC have committed to a five-year agreement that will establish a stable and reliable source of Cu-67, with plans to expand production further as market demand grows. The first shipments of Cu-67 have been made to a US research group.