​Bruce Power and its partners celebrate three years of ground-breaking IPS

Bruce Power and its partners are celebrating the third anniversary of becoming the first commercial power reactor to produce cancer-fighting, short-lived medical isotopes through its ground-breaking Isotope Production System (IPS).

Along with partners Isogen (a Kinectrics and Framatome company), ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE (ITM), and Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), Bruce Power has provided the world’s health-care community with a stable source of Lutetium-177, and has expanded production lines to double its capacity.

As part of its Canadian at Our Core campaign, Bruce Power is committed to growing Canada’s leadership role as a producer of life-saving medical isotopes, taking steps to help the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council (CNIC) and Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem (CMIE) in the goal to double the country’s isotope production by 2030.

“Ontario’s nuclear advantage is strengthened by the partnership with Bruce Power, as it supplies one-third of our province’s clean electricity while pioneering the production of life-saving medical isotopes,” said Ontario energy minister Stephen Lecce. “Our government’s ambitious plan to double the province’s medical isotope production by 2030 is being delivered in partnership with Bruce Power to create good jobs and save the lives of hundreds of thousands of cancer patients every year.”

Lutetium-177 is a cancer-fighting medical isotope used to treat prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.

“Bruce Power and its employees are proud of this crucial role we play in the production of medical isotopes that help patients across the globe,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s chief operating officer and executive vice-president, and chairman of the CNIC. “We’re expanding our medical isotope production through innovation and the installation of more IPS systems on other units because the world is counting on Canada for these vital tools in the fight against cancer.”

The company also was a trail-blazer in its equity partnership with SON to create new economic opportunities within the Indigenous community. The partnership is named Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin, which translates to, “We are teaming up to fight the sickness,” and captures the spirit of the partnership – fighting cancer together.

Part of the funding for the new IPS comes from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) which supports SON in expanding its partnership with Bruce Power. SON's investment, enhanced by SIF, advances critical infrastructure and also provides stable isotope revenue streams to SON, enabling greater participation and capacity-building.

“Our community is proud of our Gamzook’aamin aakoziwin partnership with Bruce Power and its partners in the production of medical isotopes to bring healing to people here and around the world,” said Conrad Ritchie, chief of Saugeen First Nation.

“We are working together to make a difference in fighting cancer,” said Jessica Keeshig Martin, acting chief of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation.

This vital growing supply of medical isotopes has been made possible through innovation and partnerships with Isogen which supplies the IPS, and with ITM which processes and distributes medical isotopes.

“Our IPS partnership continues to flourish and grow as we bolster the supply of Lutetium-177 for cancer patients and health-care professionals,” said Isogen president John D’Angelo. “We’re proud that the proprietary production technology at the heart of this effort is key to making these critically-important medical isotopes readily available for those who need them.”

Bruce Power has successfully shipped isotopes generated from its station to ITM’s manufacturing facility in Germany for processing pharmaceutical-grade, non-carrier-added Lutetium-177 (n.c.a. Lutetium-177). ITM is a leading supplier of n.c.a. Lutetium-177 to health-care facilities around the world for use in various clinical and commercial radiopharmaceutical cancer treatments.

“Our partnership with Bruce Power demonstrates the power of innovation and collaboration in advancing radiopharmaceutical therapies,” said Dr. Andrew Cavey, chief executive officer of ITM. “By working closely with Bruce Power, we are scaling production to provide a reliable, high-quality supply of n.c.a. Lutetium-177 to patients living with cancer around the world.”