VANCOUVER, British Columbia–August 14, 2019– ARTMS Products Inc., a global leader in the development and commercialization of novel technologies and products that enable cyclotron production of the world’s most needed medical radioisotopes, is pleased to announce they have received $1.5 million funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada as part of its Business Scale-up and Productivity program. The federal program is designed to support businesses at various stages of development, including high-growth firms, such as ARTMS, wanting to accelerate their growth, scale-up productivity and be more competitive in both domestic and global markets.
The official announcement was made on August 9, 2019, by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and the Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, during an event in North Vancouver to announce funding to support 17 innovative companies in British Columbia with high growth potential.
“Across Canada, innovative companies like ARTMS are developing solutions to today’s biggest challenges, and creating the jobs of the future,” said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. “We commend ARTMS for its work in finding new ways to produce medical isotopes used in medical imaging procedures. By supporting dynamic companies in promising sectors across British Columbia, our government is helping turn today’s challenges into opportunities, and create the kinds of middle class jobs that will secure a bright future for our children.”
“We thank Western Economic Diversification Canada for the confidence they have shown in our products and in our team” said Dr. Kaley Wilson, CEO of ARTMS Products. “The funding will help us increase revenue growth and create employment opportunities by allowing us to advance our existing programs, move new products into clinical development, and design and build the second generation QUANTM Irradiation System™.”
ARTMS foundational work is in the world’s most common radioisotope, technetium-99m, which is used in more than 80 percent of all nuclear medicine imaging procedures in cardiology, oncology, and neurology. Sourcing technetium-99m relies on an existing supply chain supported by many aging nuclear reactors. ARTMS is driving a paradigm shift from the current supply chain through its award-winning flagship product, the QUANTM Irradiation SystemTM (QISTM). QIS™ is a hardware and consumable system that provides for cost-effective, decentralized, and local production of important medical isotopes, including technetium-99m. ARTMS is also well into advanced commercialization of cyclotron produced gallium-68, Ga-68, a much sought after and valuable isotope for medical imaging in prostate and neuroendocrine tumours. ARTMS platform technology produces no long-lived radioactive waste and for Tc-99m, advances efforts to eliminate the use of weapons-grade highly enriched uranium in radioisotope production around the world.
The ARTMS QUANTM Irradiation System™ is currently available for most OEM cyclotron systems and has been installed and is operating in a number of countries.
“Having proved concept and completed clinical trials with Tc-99m, ARTMS is well on its way to providing ground-breaking solutions for the local production of other important isotopes, like Ga-68”, remarked founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Paul Schaffer.
The technology was developed in collaboration with TRIUMF, Canada’s particle accelerator centre, and scientists at three health research institutes across Canada: BC Cancer, the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization, and Lawson Health Research. Early stage research funding was provided by the Government of Canada through NSERC and the Isotope Technology Acceleration Program.