MONONA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc. (SHINE) announced today that it executed a term sheet providing for up to $125 million of debt and equity financing with Deerfield Management Company, L.P. (Deerfield), a New York headquartered healthcare investment firm. SHINE plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Wisconsin to produce more than a quarter of world supply of the most commonly-used isotope in nuclear medicine, molybdenum-99 (moly-99).
Under the terms of the financing, Deerfield would provide SHINE the debt financing in milestone-driven phases. In addition, a portion of Deerfield’s commitment would include participation in the concurrent equity financing. The funds, plus funds from the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, which provides SHINE matching funding currently up to a total of $25 million, would then be used to complete the design and construction of SHINE’s manufacturing plant, and cover ramp-up costs as the company increases operating staff prior to commencing commercial production.
The U.S. currently does not have domestic moly-99 production capability and must import 100 percent of its supply from foreign producers, most of which use weapons-grade uranium in their production processes. The majority of existing foreign supply will disappear in coming years as older reactors go offline and governments cease supplying highly enriched uranium for such purposes. SHINE’s moly-99 production technology provides a green, cost-effective, and market-compatible product that eliminates the need for weapons-grade uranium.
“The momentum we’ve gained in just the past year demonstrates that SHINE is positioned to become North America’s preeminent supplier of medical isotopes,” said Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE. “This is an important step toward complete financing of our North American plant. Deerfield’s reputation in the healthcare industry is unparalleled and I’m thrilled they share SHINE’s vision for a reliable, domestic supply of medical isotopes. We could not have found a better partner to move SHINE forward.”
“We are pleased to help advance and catalyze a solution to the looming US moly-99 supply shortage through our commitment to SHINE. We are encouraged with the progress that the SHINE team has made to date on its novel approach to produce moly-99 from low-enriched uranium.” said Steve Hochberg, Partner at Deerfield.
About SHINE Medical Technologies, Inc.
Founded in 2010, SHINE is a development-stage company working towards becoming a manufacturer of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. The SHINE system uses a patented proprietary manufacturing process that offers major advantages over existing and proposed production technologies as it does not require a nuclear reactor, uses less electricity, generates less waste and is compatible with the nation’s existing supply chain for moly-99. Earlier this year, SHINE announced execution of a supply agreement with GE Healthcare. Learn more at http://shinemed.com.
About Deerfield Management Company
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information about Deerfield, please visit www.deerfield.com.
About Molybdenum-99
Molybdenum-99 (moly-99) is a radioisotope that decays into the diagnostic imaging agent technetium‐99m (tech‐99m). Tech-99m’s extraordinary attributes make it the most commonly‐used medical isotope on the planet. It is used in more than 80,000 medical imaging procedures every day to diagnose a wide variety of conditions, including heart disease and cancer. In 2012, Congress passed the American Medical Isotopes Production Act to improve the reliability of U.S. medical isotope supply by supporting domestic projects that can produce moly-99 without the use of highly-enriched uranium.
