OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Jul 06 (MARKET WIRE) --
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced today the
approval of a new source of the medical isotope Iodine-131 (I-131) to
treat thyroid cancer in Canada.
Health Canada has authorized Draximage of Montreal to supply I-131 from
South Africa's Safari reactor to Canadian health care facilities. This
decision comes after the Department determined that I-131 produced by the
SAFARI reactor is safe and effective for use by Canadian health care
providers. Production of I-131 in Canada was interrupted by the unplanned
shutdown of the Chalk River National Research Universal reactor (NRU) in
May 2009.
"This is good news for thyroid cancer patients in Canada and their health
care providers," said Minister Aglukkaq. "Our Government continues to
find solutions to help address the current isotope shortage."
The Minister added that today's approval means that Draximage will
continue to supply all of Canada's requirements for the I-131 isotopes.
The company has advised that the transition to this new supply source
will be seamless and immediate.
Since the shutdown of the Chalk River reactor, health care providers had
been using Health Canada's Special Access Programme to access I-131 for
patients. Today's approval of I-131 by Health Canada means that the
isotope can be directly supplied to health care providers. Rapid
approvals for alternate supplies of isotopes were a part of the
regulatory tool kit put in place after the 2007 Chalk River shutdown.
Today's announcement is just one more element of the ongoing work the
Government of Canada is doing to minimize the impact of the medical
isotope shortage on Canadians.
Other measures undertaken by Health Canada include:
- Approving Australia as a new source for Technetium-99m for use by
Canadian health care providers;
- Appointing Dr. Alexander (Sandy) McEwan as Special Advisor on Medical
Isotopes for the duration of the isotope shortage. He is providing
on-the-ground updates on the situation and how it is affecting patients,
advise how Health Canada can best support provinces, territories and the
medical community on the use of alternatives and mitigation strategies,
and support the Minister in communicating the impact of the current
shortage;
- Collaborating with the provinces and territories and medical experts to
produce guidelines to assist health care professionals in a shortage
situation. These include measures to make better use of available
isotopes, prioritizing patients who most need testing, and shifting to
viable alternatives where safe and effective to do so. These guidelines
are based on work undertaken by the province of Ontario and draw on the
medical expertise of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Medical Isotopes, as
well as other health care providers;
- Working closely with the Federal, Provincial, Territorial Working Group
on Medical Isotopes, which is playing a key role in contingency planning
and managing the shortage;
- Facilitating communications between isotope suppliers, the Ad Hoc Group
of Experts on Medical Isotopes and the Federal, Provincial, Territorial
Working Group on Medical Isotopes both to track supply trends and to
enable advance planning;
- Reviewing regulatory requests for approvals of alternate isotopes on an
urgent basis to provide health care providers with options as quickly as
possible. This is part of Health Canada's ongoing work on the medical
isotope shortage to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to the
highest standards of care; and
- Investing $6 million for research into alternatives to Technetium-99m.
Other areas of focus include discussions led by the Honourable Lisa
Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, with reactor operators abroad to
ramp up production and her appointment of an Expert Review Panel and
launching a process to solicit ideas for the alternative production of
the key medical isotopes, Molybdenum-99/Technetium-99m, over the medium
and long term.
Egalement disponible en francais
Health Canada news releases are available on the Internet at
www.healthcanada.gc.ca/media
Contacts:
Media Inquiries:
Health Canada
613-957-2983
Office of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq
Federal Minister of Health
Josee Bellemare
613-957-0200
Public Enquiries:
613-957-2991
1-866 225-0709
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