Report predicts $5.5B radiopharma market by 2017

Report predicts $5.5B radiopharma market by 2017: http://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=102995 "The report estimates that Tc-99m diagnostic procedures are expected to increase by more than 15% in mature markets of North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Asia-Pacific nations between 2010 and 2030.
However, a shortage of molybdenum-99, the precursor to Tc-99m, has been a threat to this industry. Also, the high cost of devices using radioisotopes, short half-lives, lack of good manufacturing practices, and stringent regulatory approvals are major hurdles to growth of the market, according to the report.
The scheduled shutdowns of the National Research Universal (NRU) reactor in Canada in 2016 and the Osiris reactor in France in 2018 pose major risks for manufacturers in the near future, MarketsandMarkets noted. However, radiopharmaceutical companies have increased the production of thallium to meet the shortage, as it is the radiopharmaceutical most commonly used as a substitute for technetium-99 in cardiac stress tests."