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Mo-99/Tc-99m shortage expected to impact provider care and limit patient access
October 31, 2022
Nuclear Medicine Europe has reported a shortage of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99)/technetium-99m (Tc-99m) through and beyond the third week of November.
More than 20 million Americans benefit each year from nuclear medicine procedures used to diagnose and treat a wide variety of diseases like Alzheimer’s, certain cancers, and heart disease. Any delay in the supply chain impacts patient care by preventing access to the most up-to-date treatments, imaging, and diagnostic tests.
There are only five nuclear reactors in the world capable of producing the Mo-99/Tc-99m used for these advanced diagnostic imaging tests; as such, any limit in production directly impacts patient care and access.
Tc-99m is used in approximately 50,000 diagnostic medical procedures every day in the United States and cannot be replaced by less costly or more readily available treatment options.
For further information regarding the upcoming shortage, you can read the full notice here.
The previous notice with additional details is available here.
To view the SNMMI position statement regarding the importance of ensuring operational capacity of the Mo-99/Tc-99m supply chain, you can do so here.