Industry and entrepreneurship
The Supply of Medical Isotopes
An Economic Diagnosis and Possible Solutions
Published on November 18, 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Foreword | |||||||||
| Abbreviations and acronyms | |||||||||
| Executive summary | |||||||||
| Key findings | |||||||||
| Health care systems require Tc‑99m to maintain patient care | |||||||||
| The use of nuclear medicine diagnostics and Tc-99m varies significantly across countries | |||||||||
| Health care providers have varying incentives to contain the cost of Tc-99m | |||||||||
| The Tc-99m supply chain is technically complex and characterised by market imperfections | |||||||||
| Barriers to Full-Cost Recovery and Policy Options | |||||||||
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Annexes4 chapters available
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LAUNCH WEBINAR
The Supply of Medical Radioisotopes: An Economic Diagnosis and Possible Solutions
18 November 2019
14:30-16:00 Paris time
The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) will host a webinar on 18 November 2019 to present findings from a new report on the supply of medical radioisotopes, jointly produced with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Health Committee.
Join William D. Magwood, IV, Director General of the NEA, Mark Pearson, Deputy Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD, Jan Horst Keppler, Senior Economist at the NEA, and Martin Wenzl, Health Policy Analyst at the OECD, to hear the key findings of this new joint report.
Interested professionals, journalists and members of the public who would like to be able to submit questions before or during the webinar can send them via Twitter @OECD_NEA or e-mail to press@oecd-nea.org.
The webinar is available on the OECD Web TV:
KEY MESSAGES
- Millions of patients benefit from diagnostic services made possible by advances in medical imaging. The medical radioisotopes that make these procedures possible are supplied by an ageing nuclear infrastructure.
- The most widely used medical radioisotopes, molybdenum-99 (99Mo) and technetium-99m (99mTc), have to be produced daily. Any supply chain disruption can delay or cancel important medical procedures, with consequences for patients, their treatment and their health.
- Ageing production facilities and low prices for Technetium-99m, one of the most widely used medical radioisotopes, has made its supply unreliable. Only 10 nuclear reactors, many of which are nearing 50 years of operation, produce over 95% of the world’s supply.
- Production of Technetium-99m, one of the most widely used medical radioisotopes, is not fully economically viable at current prices; its supply chain structure prevents producers from charging prices that reflect its full costs.
FURTHER READING
- NEA High-level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR)
- Joint Declaration on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes
- 2018 Medical Isotope Demand and Capacity Projection for the 2018-2023 Period
- Results from the Third Self-assessment of the Global 99Mo/99mTc Supply Chain
- OECD Health Publications
- Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
- Learn more about the OECD work on health
CONTACT US
- Ms Sama Bilbao y León, NEA: Sama.BILBAOYLEON@oecd-nea.org
- health.contact@oecd.org
Follow us on Twitter via @OECD_Social