Cardinal Health, TerraPower Collaborate on Manufacturing and Distribution of Actinium-225

Cardinal Health and TerraPower announced an agreement to work together to develop and produce Actinium-225 for use in drug development and commercial sales. Since 2018, TerraPower has been working to increase supply of Actinium-225 from Thorium-229 decay, which is derived from legacy U.S. nuclear material. Actinium-225 is an alpha-emitting radionuclide with significant promise in effectively treating cancer patients. It can be attached to a targeting molecule, which will then selectively target and destroy cancerous tissue.

Under this agreement, Cardinal Health will produce and distribute TerraPower’s Actinium-225 product, which will be utilized in drug trials involving targeted alpha therapy for diseases such as breast, prostate, colon and neuroendocrine cancers, melanoma and lymphoma. The current global supply of Actinium-225 is very limited but with this agreement, it is anticipated that the companies will be able to significantly increase availability of the radionuclide.

“Through TerraPower Isotopes, our team harnesses our focus on nuclear science and innovation and applies it to the health care sector to enable the development of targeted and potentially lifesaving cancer treatments,” said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes. “Our collaboration with Cardinal Health brings us another step closer to increasing access to Actinium-225 and making advanced treatments available to patients.”

“There is incredible growth projected for the nuclear medicine industry over the next 5-10 years, with much of that growth coming in the area of theranostics1, which combines a diagnostic and therapeutic together for individualized patient treatment at the cellular level, like the radiolabeled Actinium-225 drugs,” said Tiffany Olson, president of Nuclear & Precision Health Solutions at Cardinal Health. “We are excited to be a part of this growth as we work with TerraPower to accelerate this important advancement in precision health.”