Advancing healthcare technologies is one of Rosatom’s key priorities. The Russian nuclear corporation manufactures high-tech medical equipment, isotope products, and radiopharmaceuticals while building nuclear medicine centers. Its primary goal is to improve patient access to life-saving medical technologies, equipment, and medications.
The estimated cancer incidence and mortality rates in Hungary exceed the EU average, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). By 2050, WHO predicts the number of new cancer cases worldwide will surpass 35 million. Nuclear medicine and the high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic methods it offers are critical for the treatment of oncology.
“Nuclear medicine plays an essential role in the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases through the use of radiopharmaceuticals and advanced imaging techniques. This form of medical care is used in treating cancer metastases and thyroid disorders, and is also widely applied in cardiology and neurology. Unlike surgery, these methods are minimally invasive, reducing patient stress and accelerating recovery,” says Monish Arora, Expert Director at the international consulting firm Yakov & Partners.
Radiopharmaceuticals account for over 80% of the global isotope market by value. Rosatom ranks among the world’s top five suppliers of isotope products for nuclear medicine and stands unmatched for the variety of isotopes it produces.
2.5 million medical procedures
around using Rosatom-produced isotopes are performed globally each year
Each year, Rosatom’s isotopes are used to perform around 2.5 million diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in Russia and worldwide, with supplies reaching 50 countries. The geography of deliveries continues to expand—in 2024, Cuba received the first regular shipments of iodine-131 and molybdenum-99 (used to make technetium-99m generators).
To create radiopharmaceuticals, isotopes are combined with specialized compounds designed to interact with cells or tissues targeted for examination or destruction. The resulting molecule delivers the isotope to the targeted cell, where the isotope destroys it during treatment or ‘highlights’ it during diagnostic procedures.
Rosatom is currently building a new medical isotope production facility in Obninsk (Kaluga Region, Russia). The GMP-compliant production lines will manufacture radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosing and treating cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and other conditions on a commercial scale. The initial product range will include the most in-demand radiopharmaceuticals, such as those based on iodine-131, samarium-153, radium-223, lutetium-177, and actinium-225.
This facility will become Europe’s leading producer of nuclear medicine products across a wide range of items. Centralizing production will help Rosatom reduce costs at every stage, lower radiopharmaceutical prices, and ensure prompt delivery to medical institutions across Russia and beyond.
Rosatom does not only produce and supply medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals — it also delivers comprehensive ‘turnkey’ medical solutions, including nuclear medicine centers and equipment for diagnostics, treatment, and sterilization of medical products.
Rosatom offers its accumulated nuclear technology expertise to international partners. In Bolivia’s El Alto, for instance, the Russian nuclear corporation is building a nuclear research and technology center (NRTC) to become the world’s highest-altitude nuclear facility sitting 4,000 meters above sea level. Its first departments—a cyclotron for the production of radiopharmaceuticals and a radiobiology and radioecology laboratory—were put in operation in 2023. Radiopharmaceuticals produced at the NRTC will enable over 5,000 cancer diagnostic and treatment procedures annually, with full operational capacity expected soon. Currently, Rosatom is exploring similar projects with other countries.
To share its unique expertise, Rosatom regularly participates in international nuclear medicine events. For example, Rosatom co-organized the first high-level BRICS International Forum on Nuclear Medicine for representatives of the BRICS countries to discuss the opportunities and needs of their countries, propose development ideas, and exchange views.
Photo by: Rosatom State Corporation, Unsplash
