Justifiably, nuclear medicine practitioners have voiced concern over the future supply of Mo-99 for the production of generators for Tc-99m.
Recently, a new Federal budget has earmarked as much as $20 million to support the production of Mo-99 in the USA. Mo-99 production has historically been a multi-production site responsibility with sites from around the world contributing to the overall supply. With the shut-down of Chalk River, the supply for North America was input in question. Several steps are being taken to advance production at various sites here in the USA and Canada. This latest infusion of capital is not the entire answer but, with each step, we become more likely to avoid a catastrophic shortage of Tc-99m labeled radiopharmaceuticals.