Medical isotopes play an important role in the field of nuclear medicine, and the mainland's independent supply capacity still needs to be enhanced

　　Medical isotopes are isotopes that are used in medicine and can spontaneously emit radiation. Medical isotopes are an important part of nuclear medicine, which can realize the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and more than 30 kinds of medical isotopes have been used in the field of nuclear medicine in the world. The research and application of medical isotopes is an important driving force for the development of nuclear medicine technology.

　　According to the "2024-2029 China Medical Isotope Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospect Forecast Report" released by the Xinsijie Industry Research Center, in terms of disease diagnosis, medical isotopes can be used in medical imaging equipment such as SPECT and PET for early diagnosis of diseases, and in terms of disease treatment, medical isotopes can be used in radiotherapy technology to remove small lesions and achieve malignant tumor treatment. Medical isotopes have irreplaceable and important application value in the field of disease diagnosis and treatment.

　　There are many types of medical isotopes. Molybdenum-99 is the most common radioisotope used in medical imaging equipment, which can realize early diagnosis of cancer, iodine-131 is mainly used in the treatment of thyroid diseases, with good efficacy and few side effects, strontium-89 is mainly used in the treatment of advanced cancer bone metastasis, which can identify bone tumor lesions and kill cancer cells, and other medical isotopes include carbon-14, iodine-123, iodine-125, technetium-99m, cesium-137, iridium-192, yttrium-90, cerium-68, cerium-177, thallium-132, Thallium-201, etc.

　　Medical isotope production methods mainly include reactor irradiation, accelerator irradiation, isotope generator and other types. Among them, the use of reactor irradiation to produce medical isotopes, using uranyl nitrate solution or uranyl sulfate solution as fuel and target material, the production process is simple, the production cost is low, and the safety is good, occupying a dominant position in the global market.

　　There are only a few countries in the world that can produce medical isotopes, and the number of reactors used to produce medical isotopes is small, most of which have a long service life, serious aging problems, frequent unexpected shutdowns, and will be shut down before 2030, and the international medical isotope market will face supply problems.

　　The mainland has the ability to use reactors to produce medical isotopes, but the variety and output of products cannot meet the market demand. At present, only the second institute of the Chinese Academy of Materials can supply iodine-131 and lutetium-177 in mainland China, and the China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute can supply strontium-89 and carbon-14, and molybdenum-99 and iodine-125, which are in high demand for clinical diagnosis and treatment, rely on imports.

　　It is estimated that in 2025, the output value of radiopharmaceuticals in mainland China will be close to 13 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 25% during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, which is conducive to the development of the medical isotope industry. However, compared with the United States, the current scale of the mainland medical isotope market is still small, and there is still huge room for improvement in the future.

　　In January 2024, the world's highest-powered solution-type medical isotope test reactor designed and built by China Nuclear Power Research and Design Institute officially started construction, which is the first dedicated medical isotope production reactor in mainland China, which is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2027, when it will achieve an annual output of 100,000 curies of molybdenum-99 and 20,000 curies of iodine-131.

　　The construction of the first dedicated production reactor for medical isotopes will break the mainland's dependence on imports of molybdenum-99 and iodine-131, and achieve independent supply, which can reduce the price of medical isotope products and be exported to overseas countries. However, at this stage, there are still few types of medical isotopes independently supplied by the mainland, and there is still a long way to go to fully meet domestic demand.

2024-2029 China Medical Isotope Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospect Forecast Report

Table of Contents: New Thinking World

3. Price

Fourth, product design

Section 3 Other User Characteristics

Chapter 8 Analysis of Key Domestic Manufacturers of Medical Isotopes

Section 1 Company 1