Nearly a decade ago, radio chemists at the nuclear power startup TerraPower saw a promising opportunity in radioactive waste from Cold War weapons. And when you work for a company backed by Bill Gates and his resources, you get some leeway for running with outside-the-box ideas.
TerraPower Isotopes this week announced a milestone, becoming the first commercial-scale producer of a promising and rare isotope for cancer therapies, which is extracted from weapons waste.
“We are so excited, we can hardly stand it. We’re honored and humbled,” said Scott Claunch, president of TerraPower Isotopes, a TerraPower subsidiary. “I really believe that in the future, we will utilize targeted radiotherapy as a pillar for how we treat disease.”
