22 Nov (NucNet): Areva Med, a subsidiary of Areva specialising in the development of cancer treatment methods, has inaugurated a facility for the production of the lead-212 (Pb-212) isotope for medical use.
Areva Med said in a statement that this rare metal, which exists in limited quantities, is used in the development of “innovative treatments” for certain cancers that do not respond to other conventional methods.
Through the new facility, at Bessines-sur-Gartempe in the Limousin region of central France, Areva Med will increase the availability of high purity lead-212 for research into cancer treatment and development of personalised radioimmunotherapy (RIT), a powerful cancer targeting method.
Areva Med has also received authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration to begin human clinical trials of lead-212 RIT in cooperation with the University of Alabama.
