(Tokyo, Japan, June 23, 2020) Advanced Medical Science-Planning (AMS) is pleased to announce a partnership with Fukushima Medical University (FMU) to diversify supply sources of Iodine -131 (I-131) available in Japan, which is commonly used as an essential radionuclide in Japan and around the world for thyroid cancer treatments.

AMS will work under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) process to bring new sources of I-131 as a generic drug to Japan, which are already approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as well as by counterpart agencies in the European Union. Currently, Japanese patients have limited access to a single supply source of I-131 in Japan. AMS is pleased to help address security of I-131 supply, which has become more critical following the devastating typhoon and flooding that impacted Chiba Prefecture in August 2019, and the global onset of COVID19.

The partnership with Fukushima Medical University will play an indispensable role in diversifying the supply of I-131 in Japan. AMS President Yuichiro Sugawara stated, “AMS deeply appreciates the start of a strategic relationship with Fukushima Medical University to conduct collaborative research associated with Iodine-131 to diversify the supply of this important radioisotope for Japanese thyroid cancer patients. Japanese thyroid cancer patients deserve access to the same diagnostic and treatment methods that are available in Western nations without supply disruptions, which could be reinforced by such movement as to produce I-131 from low enriched uranium (LEU) instead of highly enriched uranium (HEU) in the future. AMS is at the forefront of providing Japanese patients and the Japanese medical community with diagnostic options that will enable new treatment options as well.”

Advanced Medical Science-Planning