Northwest Medical Isotopes

Northwest Medical Isotopes is a private, pre-revenue company on a critical national mission to re-establish a domestic production capability for the essential medical isotope Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). Its strategy involves using established fission-based technology with low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets, irradiated through a network of existing university research reactors, and processed at a centralized separation facility it will build. The company aims to produce 3,000 six-day curies of Mo-99 weekly, covering approximately 50% of U.S. market demand, thereby addressing supply security, non-proliferation goals, and the fragility of the aging global production infrastructure. Success hinges on securing final financing, completing construction, and obtaining regulatory licenses for its novel production facility.

Integrated fission-based production of Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) using low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets irradiated in a network of existing research reactors, followed by chemical separation/purification and closed-loop uranium recycling.

NWMI competes against aging foreign reactors (e.g., in Belgium, the Netherlands, South Africa) and new domestic entrants like SHINE Technologies, which uses a different accelerator-driven technology. Its competitive advantages are a lower-technical-risk fission approach, use of existing reactor capacity, and strong alignment with U.S. non-proliferation policy through its LEU/recycle model.