Our country has achieved the first mass production of medical-grade alpha isotopes at the Curie level.

Reporters learned from the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the China Spallation Neutron Source, a major science facility, has recently achieved for the first time the curie-level mass production of medical-grade alpha isotopes, which will accelerate China’s domestically developed alpha radiopharmaceuticals from the laboratory to clinical applications.

Backed by its unique advantage of “high-energy, short-range,” alpha isotopes can precisely kill cancer cells while causing extremely minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissues, making them a powerful tool for cancer treatment. They are especially important clinically for targeted therapy of mid-to-late-stage tumors. However, for a long time, core therapeutic alpha isotopes such as actinium-225 and radium-223 have relied entirely on imports, and supplies have been scarce. Because their batch production involves multiple technical barriers, it has become a globally recognized industry challenge, and it has also constrained the development of China’s alpha radiopharmaceutical industry.

△ Major science facility — China Spallation Neutron Source

Relying on the major science facility — the China Spallation Neutron Source, China’s research team used additional beams from a high-energy, high-current linear accelerator to irradiate layered thorium targets. Combined with a jointly developed, independently developed separation and purification process, in July 2025, for the first time internationally, they achieved the simultaneous extraction in single batches at the millicurie level of several medical-grade alpha isotopes, including high-purity actinium-225, radium-223, and lead-212 (bismuth-212). The radiological radionuclidic purity reached above 99%. After labeling verification, the product quality is on the same level as imported products from abroad. This achievement not only broke the long-standing situation in which China’s medical-grade alpha isotopes depended on imports, but also established an economically feasible pathway for localized domestic production. After further process optimization, it recently has already had the capacity for batch supply of curie-level lead-212 (bismuth-212) on an annual basis.

To meet the needs of clinical large-scale applications, the Spallation Neutron Source Science Center is advancing the construction of dedicated alpha isotope production lines of 300MeV and 100kW. After completion, it will achieve an annual production capacity at the hundred-curie level, which can meet raw material supply needs for nuclear medicine for nearly one million patient doses.

It is reported that radium-223 has been approved for clinical treatment of bone-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, while research on targeted therapy with actinium-225 and lead-212 (bismuth-212) in mid-to-late-stage prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and other conditions has also shown significant therapeutic effects. Mass production of domestically produced isotopes will provide stable support for related clinical research and applications.

(Reporter Shuai Junquan, CCTV General, and Chu Erjia)

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