by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | August 08, 2016
From the August 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
When the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s assistant director, Dr. Matt Heavner, Ph.D., addressed SNMMI attendees about what he considers to be tremendous progress in ensuring availability of the vital tracer, it was cause for some relief. According to Heavner, the U.S., which consumes roughly half the world’s supply of Mo-99, is strengthening its supplies and will not be in a crisis when Canada’s Chalk River reactor stops producing later this year.
Without offering specifics, Heavner also said that the Department of Energy’s commercial partners are expected to offer further production options in the coming months. The goal of those partnerships (such as those with SHINE Medical Technologies and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes) is to pave the way toward a future where alternatives to weapons-grade highly enriched uranium can be used to produce the SPECT tracer.
Toward better serving patients
With the end of the meeting, SNMMI leadership changed hands. Just before being succeeded by Sally W. Schwarz, Dr. Hossein Jadvar took a moment to look back at the society’s three greatest accomplishments under his leadership:
• Establishment of a new SNMMI Therapy Center of Excellence to focus on issues related to targeted radionuclide therapy.
• Better defined training and credentialing pathways for physicians who seek to practice in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging.
• Continued work on SNMMI’s appropriate use criteria.
Over the course of the year, Jadvar visited 12 countries to promote global collaborations with molecular imaging practitioners worldwide. “No matter where I went, our colleagues overseas looked up to the SNMMI as the leader in the field,” Jadvar told HCB News. “We have to do the best we can to deliver on that expectation.”
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