by
Loren Bonner, DOTmed News Online Editor | September 16, 2013
Jubilant DraxImage Inc. announced on Sept. 6 a shortage of one of its radiopharmaceuticals that is used in the preparation of Technetium Tc99m.
The company, which manufactures diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for nuclear medicine, said that their MAA lyophilized Technetium-99m kit is in a "stock out situation."
Jubilant is the sole North American supplier of the radiopharmaceutical, which means that no other alternative source exists for the kits.
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The shortage is effective through mid-October, and will affect drugs that are used in the preparation of Tc-99m.
“SNMMI is very concerned with the recently announced shortage of DRAXIMAGE® MAA
kits. These non-radioactive kits, mixed with Tc-99m pertechnetate (a radioactive
compound), are used to perform radionuclide lung scans to assess the presence of a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) in the lungs," said Dr. Gary Dillehay, SNMMI's president.
This procedure is performed approximately 640,000 times a year in the United States, according to Dillehay.
Jubilant attributes manufacturing improvements to the delay — ones that have taken longer than originally anticipated, according to an official release from Jubilant.
The company has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the shortage.
Dillehay said SNMMI is currently exploring options for nuclear medicine and molecular imaging professionals during the supply disruption.
