Coquí RadioPharmaceuticals Will Build First U.S. Production Facility

 Nov. 13. 2014 — Coquí RadioPharmaceuticals Corp. (Coquí Pharma) is working to become the first commercial producer of lifesaving medical isotopes in the United States.  In 2012, Congress passed legislation making it a national priority to produce Molybdenum-99, an isotope necessary to detect a wide range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

“Among the aspiring medical isotope production companies looking to build facilities in the U.S., Coquí Pharma is the only one using a design and production method already demonstrated throughout the world as safe, efficient and reliable,” stated Carmen Bigles, CEO of Coquí.  Coquí Pharma recently announced their plans to construct the medical isotope production facility at the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Progress Corporate Park, Alachua, Florida.

The facility will be producing Molybdenum-99, the parent isotope of Technetium-99, the isotope used in 80% of nuclear medicine procedures. Once operational, Coquí Pharma will be capable of supplying a large portion of the U.S. market and, ultimately, the international.

International production sources tend to be older and unreliable, which can delay delivery of potentially life-saving medical diagnostics and treatments to patients.  International facilities also tend to use highly enriched uranium, which can raise proliferation concerns. Coquí has selected INVAP, an internationally recognized Argentinian firm to design and construct the proposed facility. 

INVAP has designed and constructed a number of similar facilities around the world, including the OPAL research reactor in Australia, the RA-3 in Argentina, and other facilities that are successfully producing Mo-99 with low enriched uranium.

For more information: www.coquipharma.com