KENNEWICK, Wash., June 12, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation ("AMIC") (Pink Sheets:ADMD) (http://www.isotopeworld.com), a company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes, has entered into an agreement to further develop a proprietary brachytherapy treatment with Battelle, which operates the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Utah.
AMIC proposes development of a proprietary concept for controlled delivery of yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres embedded in resorbable seed-shape materials for tissue-directed, high-dose intra-tumoral therapy. Use of Y-90 will help to minimize the radiation dose to nearby normal tissues compared to x-rays from standard seeds. This technology is designed to improve the treatment of confined or non-resectable tumors and is based on a fast-dissolving polymer-matrix chemistry.
Researchers believe this method may provide a significantly lower-cost alternative to existing metallic seeds as well as having the strong possibility of delivering a greater "biological effective" radiation dose to tumors compared to standard industry seeds.
"Yttrium-90 demonstrated outstanding therapeutic properties for cancer treatment, but the challenge has always been controlled delivery of the radioisotope to target tissues and avoiding irradiation of normal tissues," said AMIC Chief Science Officer Dr. Robert Schenter. "Using the same ultrasound-guided delivery methods and hardware familiar to seed implant surgeons, we hope to provide a better treatment option to the cancer patient. The ready availability of ultra-pure yttrium-90 provides an advantage."
AMIC likely will seek new medical device approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during 2009.
About Advanced Medical
Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation (AMIC) is a medical isotope production company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes and medical isotope in vivo delivery systems for advanced diagnostic and non-surgical therapeutic application. AMIC's goal is to empower physicians, medical researchers, and ultimately patients by providing them with essential medical isotopes that, until now, have not been feasible or economical, in an effort to detect and cure human disease. For more information, please visit our website, www.isotopeworld.com.
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About PNNL
PNNL is a DOE Office of Science national laboratory that solves complex problems in energy, national security and the environment, and advances scientific frontiers in the chemical, biological, materials, environmental and computational sciences. PNNL employs 4,200 staff, has a $750 million annual budget, and has been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965.
About the University of Utah
The University of Utah is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. Founded in 1850, it is the first and largest public higher education institution in Utah, with more than 28,000 students from all 50 states and 114 countries, and a campus comprising almost 1,500 acres in the foothills of the Wasatch Range in Salt Lake City. A major academic and research institution with an extensive health sciences center, the University of Utah offers major in 72 subjects at the undergraduate level and 95 fields of study at the graduate level, including law and medical schools. In 2007, the University of Utah garnered worldwide attention when Mario Capecchi, co-chair and professor of human genetics, was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
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