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| December 22, 2009 |
December radioisotope shortage eases
(Falls Church) Dec. 22, 2009 – The American Thyroid Association (ATA) warned in early December about a pending North American shortage of isotopes for the diagnosis and therapy of thyroid disorders. The shortage was precipitated by the shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, a main supplier of radioisotope for I-131. Subsequent additional production problems further limited availability.
I-131 is used in small doses to destroy normal thyroid tissue when treating an overactive thyroid and in larger doses to destroy cancerous thyroid tissue when treating thyroid cancer. Supplies of I-123, used to trace and image during diagnosis, have not been affected.
Last week, DRAXIMAGE ®, a leading supplier of I-131 products in North America, told the ATA that they have been able to minimize the impact of the shortage by getting I-131 raw material needs through a variety of sources.
“So far, I-131 supply issues have been mitigated,” said Benoit Larose, director of sales and marketing for DRAXIMAGE in a communication to the ATA December 18. “Supply in early December was unexpectedly very tight indeed, but it is now back to a normal level and we do not anticipate further disruptions barring sudden changes in the supply chain.”
Although the shortage has apparently eased, according to Mr. Larose the situation “requires constant monitoring and unfortunately evolves quickly.”
While the I-131 shortage has apparently eased for the present time, the ATA will continue to monitor its availability, communicate with suppliers, and offer updates on the I-131 shortage if the status changes.
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