The Institute of Radioelements (IRE) has commissioned the Louvain-la-Neuve-based company IBA(Ion Beam Applications S.A., EURONEXT) to install a particle accelerator for the production of radioisotopes for the diagnosis of numerous cancer types such as neuroendocrine tumors and prostate cancer.

Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, September 15th 2020 - IBA, the world's leading provider of solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and IRE, the world leader in the production of radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in the field of nuclear medicine, announced recently that they have signed a contract for the installation of a cyclotron with energy of 30 MeV (mega electron volt) on an IRE site. Commissioning is scheduled for 2023.

Belgium is internationally recognized for its significant role in the advancement of nuclear medicine. These two Belgian companies, world leaders in their field, are joining forces to install this new cyclotron, the Cyclone® IKON, that will enable IRE to produce Germanium-68 (Ge-68), the raw material for the Germanium-68/ Gallium-68 (Galli Ad® and Galli Eo®) generators, for which demand is growing rapidly. These generators are manufactured on the Fleurus site by its pharmaceutical subsidiary IRE ELiT to serve hospitals around the world.