ARTMS Products And GE Healthcare Team Up To Expand Cyclotron Produced Radioisotopes And Address Longstanding Radiopharmaceutical Supply Concerns In Medical Imaging

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, ARTMS Products, Inc. announced they have signed a strategic partnership with GE Healthcare around ARTMS’ proprietary QUANTM99^TM Irradiation System (QIS^TM) for radioisotope production. The goal of the partnership is to supply equipment, technologies and research that supports the production and processing of radioisotopes on GE’s PETtrace^TM 800 platform of medical cyclotrons. The QIS^TM integrates on to the GE PETtrace^TM 800 series cyclotron to enable an alternative, non-reactor supply of valuable medical isotopes including technetium-99m, copper-64, gallium-68 and zirconium-89.

“The first installation of QUANTMTM in Europe is due to the dedicated team of individuals behind this technology. Both staff and management of ARTMS are certainly very excited about the future that lies ahead for the company.”

The strategic partnership includes an agreement for ARTMS to supply and install Europe’s first QUANTM^TM system and research into expanding the number of available isotopes produced on GE’s PETtrace^TM 800 series medical cyclotrons. ARTMS will work with GE to optimize the production and processing of isotopes such as copper-64 and gallium-68.

The QUANTM^TM system has already proven concept and received numerous awards for its leading edge technology in the area of technetium-99m (Tc-99m) production. Every year Tc-99m is used in over 80% of all nuclear medicine imaging procedures in areas such as cardiology, oncology, and neurology. Recently, Tc-99m produced with the QUANTM^TM system was used to complete a Canadian multi-centre registration trial in bone imaging and thyroid function.

In the future it is the intent of ARTMS and GE to continue to offer the QUANTM^TM system to new and existing PETtrace^TM cyclotron customers on a global basis. Customers will benefit directly from the intellectual property, know-how, trade-secrets and regulatory package that ARTMS has developed.

“The commercialization of the core technology behind the QUANTM^TM system represents a significant milestone for ARTMS,” said Dr. Paul Schaffer, CEO of ARTMS. “The first installation of QUANTM^TM in Europe is due to the dedicated team of individuals behind this technology. Both staff and management of ARTMS are certainly very excited about the future that lies ahead for the company.”

“By utilizing ARTMS’ QUANT99^TM system, our customers—cyclotron owners and operators—are open to producing additional high-value radioisotopes on their GE PETtrace^TM cyclotrons,” said Erik Strömqvist, General Manager of Cyclotrons and TRACERcenter, GE Healthcare. The QUANTM^TM technology provides users with a local, reliable and non-reactor supply of important medical isotopes such as Tc-99m to ensure that patients can get the diagnostic imaging scans they require.”

The QUANTM^TM technology includes all the required products and procedures for the production of Tc-99m using GE’s PETtrace cyclotrons and enables the production of other valuable isotopes through the bombardment of a high-energy proton beam against specific chemical ‘targets’. The worldwide installed base of cyclotrons exceeds 550 units with approximately 40 – 50 new units per annum. ARTMS is the world-wide leader in the development and commercialization of this novel technology.

The ARTMS process provides a cost-effective alternative to reactor-based technology. The technology produces no long-lived radioactive waste and advances efforts to eliminate the use of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium (HEU) in radioisotope production around the world.

About ARTMS Products, Inc.
ARTMS Products Inc. is a leader in the development of novel technologies and products which enable the production of the world’s most-used diagnostic imaging isotope, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), using local, hospital-based medical cyclotrons. ARTMS holds the exclusive global commercialization rights to award-winning and proprietary Canadian inventions which address these challenges and which offer the prospect of revolutionizing the nuclear medicine industry. Visit our website at www.artms.ca.

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services to meet the demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter - great people and technologies taking on tough challenges. From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their patients. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.