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

A reporter learned from the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, that China’s Large-Scale Neutron Scattering Facility—the China Spallation Neutron Source—has recently achieved, for the first time, mass production of medical-grade alpha isotopes at the curie level. This will accelerate China’s indigenous alpha radiopharmaceuticals as they move from the laboratory to clinical application.

Alpha isotopes, thanks to their unique “high-energy, short-range” advantages, can precisely kill cancer cells while causing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue. They are a powerful tool for cancer treatment, and particularly have important clinical value for targeted therapy for mid- to late-stage tumors. However, for a long time, core therapeutic alpha isotopes such as actinium-225 and radium-223 have been entirely dependent on imports, and supplies are scarce. Because large-scale 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.

△Large-Scale Scientific Facility—China Spallation Neutron Source

Relying on the Large-Scale Scientific Facility—the China Spallation Neutron Source—China’s research team used additional beam irradiation to stack thorium targets with a high-energy, high-current linear accelerator’s extra beam. Combined with a jointly developed, independent separation and purification process, in July 2025 they achieved for the first time internationally the simultaneous extraction of several medical alpha isotopes—high-purity actinium-225, radium-223, and lead-212 (bismuth-212)—at the level of one batch of millicurie. The radiochemical nuclear purity reached more than 99%. After verification by labeling, the quality is at the same level as imported products from abroad. This achievement not only breaks China’s long-standing situation of relying on imported medical alpha isotopes, but also establishes an economically feasible pathway for localized production. After further process optimization, the facility has recently acquired the capability for batch supply at the curie level for lead-212 (bismuth-212) per year.

To meet clinical scale-up application needs, the Spallation Neutron Source Science Center is advancing the construction of dedicated alpha isotope production lines of 300MeV and 100kW. Once completed, it will achieve an annual production capacity at the level of hundreds of curies, which can support raw-material supply for nearly one million patient-dose administrations of radiopharmaceuticals.

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

(Source: CCTV News)