IsoRay (ISR) is a company providing brachytherapy, a therapy that uses the radiation of little seeds implanted close to tumors in order to deliver targeted ongoing radiation therapy. IsoRay has unique seeds based on Cesium-131 which are particularly suited to this.
Source: IR presentation January 2021
Here are the advantages of the company's unique Cesium-131:
- It produces a higher intensity radiation (30.4 Kev) compared to alternatives like Palladium-103 (20.8 Kev) or Iodine-125 (28.5 Kev).
- It has a shorter half-life (9.7 days) compared to alternatives like Palladium-103 (17 days) or Iodine-125 (60 days).
- It needs just 33 days to deliver 90% of its dose compared to 58 days for Palladium-103 and 204 days for Iodine-125.
- As a result, it is detectable in the body for 97 days compared to Palladium-103's 107 days and Iodine-125 600 days.
Cesium-131 was cleared by the FDA in 2003 for a host of cancers, including prostate cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gynecological cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, ocular melanoma and pancreatic cancer.
The company began the production of Cesium-131 seeds in 2004, the production process is proprietary, from the 10-K:
Cesium-131 is a radioactive isotope that can be produced by the neutron bombardment of Barium-130 (Ba-130). To produce the Cesium-131 brachytherapy seed, a proprietary chemical separation is performed that results in 99.9% pure Cesium-131 isotope. Purified Cesium-131 is adsorbed onto a ceramic core containing a gold X-ray marker. This internal core assembly is subsequently inserted into a titanium capsule that is then welded shut and becomes a sealed radioactive source and a biocompatible medical device.
It sources the isotope from Russian supplier (JSC Isotope which has the INM and RIAR reactors) but they do have contingency plans, for instance for when that reactor is down, as happened a couple of years ago.
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