UPPI LLC Presents at the Nuclear Energy Agency's 1st Meeting of the 4th Mandate of the High-Level Group on the Security of the Medical Radioisotope Supply

SUWANEE, GA--(Marketwired - March 01, 2016) - UPPI LLC announced today it presented on the UPPI LEU Walk: Three Year Experience, in recognition of providing radiopharmaceuticals of molybdenum 99/technetium 99m derived from sources with low enriched uranium (LEU), at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency's (NEA) 1^st Meeting of the 4th Mandate of the High-level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes (HLG-MR).

As part of the "UPPI LEU Walk" campaign, in an effort to help accelerate uptake of supplies of molybdenum 99-derived medical imaging products produced without highly enriched uranium (HEU), a review of private payer insurance coverage of the Q9969 added-on reimbursement for the use of non-HEU/LEU showed adoption of the product by hospitals in the United States. This campaign supports the Department of Energy's efforts to reduce the use of HEU -- which could be used in a nuclear device, as codified in the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012.

UPPI radiopharmacies have been innovators cultivating early adopters within hospitals and imaging centers to embrace the transition to reliable, safer, LEU-based sources of medical isotopes.

The NEA established the HLG-MR in 2009 to examine the underlying reasons for the global supply shortage of non-HEU molybdenum-99 (99Mo) and technetium-99m (99mTc) for the medical grade isotopes used in over 80% of radiopharmaceuticals. The fourth mandate of the HLG-MR will allow for extension of its work in the field of ensuring the security of medical radioisotopes supply. The group meets twice annually to share information and to discuss ongoing policy issues.

"Being able to show to the stakeholders that many private insurers have implemented the Q9969 add-on reimbursement for the use of non-HEU/LEU technetium-99radiopharmaceuticals, for all covered lives, greatly helps the molecular imaging community transition the market place to products free of highly-enriched Uranium," said John Witkowski, UPPI President and presenter at the meeting.

Established in 1998, UPPI is an alliance of independent commercial radiopharmacies and leading non-profit academic medical center radiopharmacies, which are focused on delivering prepared radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic molecular imaging and therapeutic patient care needs. UPPI national reach provides daily and on-call radiopharmaceuticals in metropolitan, secondary, tertiary, and rural market places. Every day UPPI member and affiliate pharmacies provide over 8,000 unit dose prescriptions for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy to nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, nuclear cardiologists and oncologists. The UPPI network includes 83 radiopharmacies and academic radiopharmacies and 10 cyclotrons for the production of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals.

UPPI is committed to delivering outcomes, solutions and strategies in patient critical products that extend health and wellness.

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