Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc, announced that it has added a low-enriched uranium (LEU) TechneLite (Technetium Tc 99m Generator) generator to its snuclear imaging product portfolio. Mo-99 is the parent isotope of Tc-99m, which is the radioisotope most widely used for nuclear imaging tests. Tc-99m is used in approximately 15 million annual doses in the US. Lantheus’ LEU TechneLite generator is the first technetium-99m (Tc-99m) generator in the United States that contains molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) produced from at least 95% LEU. With greater access to LEU Mo-99 through its supply chain diversification strategy, Lantheus can now move closer to its goal of eventually eliminating Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)-sourced Mo-99 from its supply chain. Lantheus’ first LEU TechneLite generator was shipped on January 7, 2013.
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2011 (AMIPA) as part of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act. The AMIPA encourages the domestic production of LEU Mo-99 and provides for the eventual prohibition of the export of HEU from the United States. In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently stipulated in the 2013 final Medicare payment rules, for Medicare Hospital Outpatients, that CMS will provide incremental reimbursement for every Tc-99m diagnostic dose produced from non-HEU sourced Mo-99. Lantheus’ LEU TechneLite generator satisfies the new reimbursement requirements under the CMS 2013 rules.
