Federal cash to fight cancer lands at Ontario nuclear plant

The world’s largest nuclear station may not seem the right place for a major healthcare announcement, but it was Tuesday in Bruce County.

“What it means for the average person is we’re looking at growing the ability to fight cancer,” said Oakville-North Burlington MP, Pam Damoff.

The federal government will spend up to $35 million to support the development, production, advancement and distribution of medical isotopes at accelerators and nuclear plants across Canada. The new Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem will create isotopes to be used in cancer treatment and diagnostic imaging.

“They’re like heat seeking missiles that find the cancer and destroy it without destroying the rest of the cells in the body,” explained Damoff, who made the announcement on behalf of the federal government at the Bruce Power Nuclear Plant near Kincardine, Ont. on Tuesday.

Bruce Power, the world’s largest nuclear station — located along the shores of Lake Huron near Kincardine — stands to accelerate their production of medical isotopes as a result of the announcement. They’ve been harvesting medical isotopes, a by-product of nuclear power generation for 30 years, but have ramped up their isotope production in the past four years.

Production of medical isotopes at the Bruce Power Nuclear Plant near Kincardine, Ont. is seen in this undated image. (Source: Bruce Power)“We make enough cobalt 60 to sterilize about 40 per cent of the once used medical devices around the world, and when we brought our new production system online with the first few production runs, we made more lutetium 177 than was made everywhere else in the world to that point in the year,” explained Bruce Power President and CEO, Mike Rencheck.

Tuesday’s new funding also solidifies a partnership between the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and Bruce Power, who are equity partners, in the nuclear power spin-off.

“It serves to show that there’s more to this industry than just power generation. Nuclear medicine is a new and evolving field, and I just hope it really inspires people to see the broader picture of this industry and the opportunities available,” said Saugeen Ojibway Nation Environment Office and Energy Manager, Michael Chegahno.

“The pandemic has shown us how important it is to have strong domestic production of pharmaceuticals, and we are delivering on our commitment to providing Canadians with the best therapies they need to care for their health. With this investment, we are making our country a major player in the global biomanufacturing and life sciences industry while creating good jobs for Canadians and stimulating the local economy,” said Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, Francois-Philippe Champagne.

“From a business perspective, we do this because we can. It’s incremental to our overall revenue streams, but when you look at the benefits to society of clean energy and medical isotopes, how can you not do it,” said Rencheck.

The Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem will be under the oversight of the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) and TRIUMF Innovations, supporting projects with Bruce Power, BWXT Medical, McMaster University and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories.

The funding is for up to $35 million over the next five years.