02 Aug 21. Radiochemistry 18F-FDG production milestone

Our radiochemistry team have successfully produced their final 18F-FDG production before our radiochemistry suite closes for refurbishment.

This final 18F-FDG production at our Radiochemistry facility comes exactly 10 years on from when our licences to manufacture PET radiotracers for clinical diagnostic & clinical trials were obtained from the MHRA & we began supplying 18F-FDG to scan NHS patients on our scanner in Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Imaging Radiochemistry facility opened in 2011 for production & was the first licensed facility routinely producing FDG in Scotland.

Since then, the Edinburgh Imaging Radiochemistry facility has produced FDG for a range of clinical & research applications, for the NHS Lothian oncology imaging service & has also developed & validated production methods to provide additionally:

• 18F-NaF
• 18F-fluorocholine
• 18F-Fluciclatide
• 18F-Flutemetamol
• 15O-water
• 18F-GP1

Throughout the years, the Edinburgh Imaging Radiochemistry has been key in maintaining PET clinical services in northern UK by supplying radiotracers to other PET centres (Newcastle, Glasgow, Dundee) when the UK main commercial supplier went down for nearly 1 year to upgrade their own production sites.

After 10 years of production, we are now upgrading the radiochemistry facility in order to modernize our facility & increase our production capacity to meet the growing demand.

This six-month upgrade project will increase our throughput as well as our ability to produce multiple isotopes in a single day.

Dr Christophe Lucatelli, Senior Research Fellow in Radiochemistry, shared his thoughts on the 18F-FDG production milestone.

“We have so far been working for more than two years on this project & I am really excited to have reached this major milestone.

I am now looking forward to the completion of this complex & challenging project which should ultimately be highly beneficial to the PET community in Edinburgh”