NorthStar and QSA Global Partner to Secure Rare Radium‑226 Supply Chain for Actinium‑225 Production

Background

Targeted Alpha Therapies (TAT) depend on no‑carrier‑added (n.c.a.) Actinium‑225 (Ac‑225) as a potent alpha‑emitting radionuclide for oncology trials. Producing n.c.a. Ac‑225 requires a high‑purity feedstock of radium‑226 (Ra‑226). The global supply of Ra‑226 has been under severe strain for years because primary ore‑derived sources are exhausted, and producers have been improvising with legacy Ra‑226 reclaimed from decommissioned instruments, industrial gamma sources and recovered coatings. The resulting material is inconsistent in isotopic purity and often contaminated, which compromises yield and repeatability in downstream target fabrication.

Problem

NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes planned to expand its commercial production of n.c.a. Ac‑225, but the company's Ra‑226 procurement pipeline was unreliable. The scarcity of primary raw material forced a patchwork of low‑volume, variable‑purity sources that introduced downstream variability in target capsule performance. In practical terms, this meant lead times for target delivery stretched to six weeks on average and an unpredictable defect rate that complicated quality‑assurance documentation under ISO 9001 and cGMP requirements.

Solution

NorthStar and QSA Global signed a multi‑year strategic services agreement that formalizes a closed‑loop lifecycle for radium‑226. Under the pact, QSA Global takes charge of processing legacy Ra‑226 material—extracted from decommissioned instrumentation, industrial gamma sources and recovered coatings—through a multi‑step purification train: acid digestion, selective precipitation, ion‑exchange chromatography and final calcination to a high‑purity Ra‑226 oxide. The output meets NorthStar’s specifications for target capsule feedstock (≥99.9 % isotopic purity, ≤0.01 % non‑radioactive impurity by mass).

The purified Ra‑226 is shipped to NorthStar’s irradiation facility, encapsulated and neutron‑activated to produce n.c.a. Ac‑225. After radiochemical processing, residual radium is returned to QSA Global for recycling, re‑purified and fed back into target capsule manufacturing. The cycle repeats for the duration of the agreement, creating a sustainable supply loop that eliminates dependence on fresh ore‑derived Ra‑226.

“By managing the complex, highly regulated lifecycle of radium‑226, QSA Global enables partners like NorthStar to focus their resources entirely on commercial Actinium‑225 production,” said Dr. Joe Lapinskas, Innovation Director at QSA Global.

“We have seen first‑hand the variability that legacy sources introduce into target performance. This partnership gives us a predictable stream of high‑purity material, which directly translates to tighter process control in our cyclotron and post‑irradiation separation steps,” noted Dr. Frank Scholz, President & CEO of NorthStar.

Impact

If the purification campaign meets its design targets, NorthStar projects a reduction in target‑delivery lead time from the current six‑week average to roughly two weeks, a three‑fold improvement. The closed‑loop model also removes an estimated 20–25 % of the raw‑material cost premium associated with sourcing low‑volume legacy material. From a quality‑management perspective, the consistent isotopic purity stream will simplify audit‑trail documentation for ISO 9001 and cGMP compliance, potentially cutting the number of non‑conformances reported over the past two years by nearly half.

The partnership also positions QSA Global to extend its radium‑services portfolio beyond NorthStar, offering third‑party processing to other Ac‑225 producers that currently rely on fragmented supply chains. For the broader TAT ecosystem, the agreement could relieve one of the primary bottlenecks that has limited the scale‑up of Ac‑225‑based clinical trials, potentially supporting a 15–20 % increase in available dose supply over the next three years.

From an engineering standpoint, the deal shows how a disciplined, multi‑partner lifecycle loop can convert a scarce, low‑grade raw material into a reliable feedstock for high‑activity radioisotope production. The technical feasibility hinges on robust purification chemistry, precise capsule fabrication and seamless logistics between two regulated facilities. I think the biggest risk is maintaining that seamless logistics across two geographically separate sites, but the contractual commitment and shared quality‑system architecture should mitigate most of it.

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M4S TAKE

My take: certifications like this matter because they give buyers a defensible reason to shortlist a supplier. In a market where everyone claims quality, third-party validation is the difference between being considered and being ignored.

Simon McLoughlin