Rome, Italy (August 26, 2026) — We Are Innovation has just published a new report on nuclear medicine. The document is titled “The Reactor in the Room: Civilian Nuclear Power as an Underused Engine for Medical Isotope Security” and authored by Mario Spoltore, a MD Candidate at Sapienza University of Rome. It warns that the global supply of medical isotopes remains dangerously dependent on a small number of ageing nuclear reactors, putting millions of diagnostic procedures and emerging cancer treatments at risk.
Medical isotopes are used in around 30 million procedures every year. Technetium-99m, the world’s most widely used diagnostic isotope, supports approximately 85 percent of nuclear-medicine scans, yet almost all global supply depends on just seven research reactors, most of them more than 50 years old.
The report argues that this concentration has created vulnerability. Because many medical isotopes decay rapidly and cannot be stockpiled, reactor outages can reach hospitals within days. During a shortage between 2009 and 2010, supply fell as much as 70 percent below demand. Another major disruption occurred in late 2024 when an unplanned shutdown in the Netherlands coincided with maintenance at other European reactors.
At the same time, a new generation of targeted cancer treatments is increasing demand for reliable isotope production. The report highlights actinium-225, a promising isotope for targeted alpha therapy whose historic global supply has been sufficient to treat fewer than 100 patients a year. In 2024, a late-stage clinical trial was paused because there was not enough actinium-225 available.
The report points to Canada as evidence that a different model is possible. Commercial CANDU nuclear power stations can produce medical isotopes while continuing to generate electricity. Bruce Power has produced the cancer-treatment isotope lutetium-177 in an operating power reactor, while Ontario’s Darlington station became the first commercial power reactor licensed to produce molybdenum-99, the isotope behind millions of diagnostic scans.
Argentina is also identified as an important emerging contributor. Its RA-10 multipurpose reactor and associated isotope-production infrastructure could give the country capacity equivalent to around 18–20 percent of global molybdenum-99 demand by the end of the decade, while also supporting production of therapeutic isotopes.
The report calls out for smarter regulation and stronger market incentives. It recommends clearer licensing pathways for isotope production in commercial reactors, pricing that reflects the true cost of reliable production, investment in reserve capacity, faster customs and freight arrangements for short-lived isotopes, and greater support for new therapeutic-isotope production.
The author, Mario Spoltore, explains, “Commercial nuclear power has quietly become one of the most life-saving industries on earth, and it is only beginning to show what it can do for medicine. Our research finds that the technology already works, the economics are understood, and there is at least one clear case of a country getting it right: Canada produces cancer medicine inside the same power plants that light its cities. What remains is largely a matter of coordination. That is a less dramatic conclusion than a call for breakthrough innovation, but a far more tractable one. It also means that our dependence on a handful of aging research reactors is a choice, and one we can un-choose.”
The central challenge is no longer whether the technology exists, but whether policy and investment can catch up. Commercial reactors are already producing cancer medicine alongside electricity, new therapies are extending patients’ lives, and previous reforms have shown that nuclear security and reliable medical supply can advance together.
ENDS
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We Are Innovation is a dynamic network of individuals and institutions who deeply believe in innovation’s power to drive progress and solve the world’s most pressing problems. With 50 think tanks, foundations, and NGOs based worldwide, We Are Innovation represents the diverse voices of a global civil society committed to advancing human creativity, adopting new technologies, and promoting innovative solutions. Through our collaborative approach and cutting-edge expertise, we are driving global transformative change. To learn more about our work, visit us at https://weareinnovation.global/.
