Just south of Penn\u2019s campus, construction began in May on a new manufacturing facility dedicated to producing actinium-225 \u2014 a radioactive isotope used in cancer treatments.<\/p>\n
Located in Philadelphia\u2019s Bellwether District, the $450 million plant<\/a> spans 250,000 square feet<\/a> and is expected to create 225 full-time jobs within the next three years. The TerraPower Isotopes facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2029.<\/p>\n \u201cTerraPower Isotopes\u2019 presence in Philadelphia will strengthen a place where health, science, and technology converge to address some of the world\u2019s most pressing challenges,\u201d Chief Executive Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System Kevin Mahoney wrote<\/a> in a press release.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mahoney added that Philadelphia \u201chas a long history of turning ideas and discoveries into advances that accelerate progress, and TerraPower Isotopes\u2019 arrival brings new expertise and momentum to the region\u2019s dynamic research community.\u201d<\/p>\n Ac-225 is harvested from Uranium-233 \u2014 which begins its journey to TerraPower from storage at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management then converts<\/a> that material into a form safe for shipment and disposal with the help of a company called Isotek.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get the DP delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n Isotek then extracts thorium-229 from the U-233, which is then passed along to TerraPower, which harvests the Ac-225 from the Th-229. TerraPower goes on to supply pharmaceutical companies with Ac-225, which incorporate it into drugs called targeted alpha therapies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ac-225 is particularly valuable because it is an alpha particle emitter \u2014 an isotope that can be used for targeted alpha therapies that selectively<\/a> target and kill cancer cells by emitting alpha radiation. Targeted alpha therapies provide a specific tumor-cell-killing ability that does not damage the surrounding normal tissue and are \u201cideal\u201d for treating smaller tumor burdens.<\/p>\n TerraPower Senior External Communications Manager Allison Finder emphasized that the company was \u201clooking for a place with world-class researchers, clinical trial infrastructure, the manufacturing know-how,\u201d and a \u201ctalent pipeline.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things about the region and the city in particular is that it\u2019s a great center for medicine, life science \u2014 not just in the U.S. but for the world,\u201d Finder said, adding that \u201cUPenn is down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n