Janesville, WI – SHINE Medical Technologies Inc. (SHINE), a Wisconsin-based company dedicated to being the world leader in the safe, clean, affordable production of medical isotopes, and Phoenix LLC, manufacturer of the world's strongest compact neutron generators, announced today that Phoenix has delivered the first production accelerator to SHINE's Building One, the first building on the SHINE medical isotope production campus in Janesville, WI.

Known as the first production unit, this state-of-the-art accelerator system was designed and built by Phoenix specifically for the SHINE medical isotope project, which will produce radioisotopes used in medical imaging. Previous Phoenix prototype systems demonstrated the neutron output and up-time required for medical isotope production in the SHINE facility. The first production unit is the third-generation design for SHINE and is the first system designed for regular commercial use.

"This is a really special day for all of us, and is personally very exciting for me," said SHINE CEO, Greg Piefer. "This delivery represents the culmination of almost a decade of joint work between Phoenix and SHINE, moving from proof of concept, to proof of scale, and now to a commercial-ready unit that can produce thousands of doses of medicine per day when paired with the SHINE target. Our tests in Building One will prove the technology is ready for production and provide us important maintenance and operational data well in advance of starting up the actual plant."
"Phoenix's mission is to tackle humanity's greatest challenges with nuclear technology," said Ross Radel, Phoenix CEO. "We're incredibly excited to see all the hard work over the years result in this outcome. Through our partnership with SHINE, our neutron generators will support production of enough Mo-99 to provide millions of people a year with the critical imaging procedures they need."

The first production unit was delivered to SHINE's Building One on Monday, October 15th, 2018. After installation and commissioning, it will allow SHINE to gain operating experience, train employees, and develop maintenance procedures prior to construction of its commercial production facility. Construction of the SHINE medical isotope production facility is slated to begin in the spring of 2019. Once built, the production facility will contain eight independent isotope production units, each with its own Phoenix neutron generator. At full capacity, the SHINE facility will be able to supply over one third of global demand for Mo-99. Commercial production of Mo-99 will begin in 2021.

Molecular Imaging Homepage