The signing ceremony will take place at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 8 at the New Mexico State Capitol.
"Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of California are very excited about this collaboration and the close relationship that has developed to utilize the federal government investment in isotopes," said Donna Smith, Division Leader of Technology Transfer at the Laboratory. By utilizing the isotope production facility at Los Alamos, the center can develop new products, perform the required pre-clinical and patient testing and make the new drugs available for use around the state and throughout the United States that will result in better care for current and future patients. The UNM Health Sciences Center also will expand its educational programs to create a high-tech work force needed to support the medical isotope industry that creates high-paying jobs in New Mexico.
The Isotope Production Facility, located at the Laboratory's neutron science center (LANSCE) is a state-of-the-art medical isotope source able to produce more than 35 medical isotopes by utilizing the kilometer-long, 100 million electron volt particle accelerator at LANSCE. The facility consists of upper and lower sections, with the beam-target area housed in the lower section and the hot-cell, handling area housed in the upper section.
Medical isotopes can be used for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, mental illness and other diseases more effectively and with less harm to patients. However, making these drugs is difficult because isotopes can decay rapidly, in some cases as quickly as a couple of days.
Within the next five years, the NMCIM goal is to develop products that will be marketed and distributed to physicians and hospitals in New Mexico and around the country. The NMCIM will be housed at the UNM Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy taking advantage of the proximity to the UNM Cancer Research & Treatment Center, The UNM MIND (Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery) Institute and the UNM School of Medicine. In addition, partnerships with Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Technology Commercialization International, Inc., and other New Mexico businesses are included in the initiative.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.