Orano Med has opened a pharmaceutical production site in Onnaing, near Valenciennes, France, for lead-212-based targeted alpha therapies intended for cancer treatment. The company said the facility is Europe’s first industrial-scale site dedicated to producing lead-212 radioligand therapies.
The 3,000-square-meter ATLab Valenciennes facility represents a €29 million investment and is expected to create about 25 direct jobs. It received nearly €3.8 million in public support through France’s 2030 industrial and health-capacity program.
The plant is designed to manufacture targeted alpha therapies using lead-212, a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 10.6 hours. That short half-life requires therapies to be produced, shipped and administered to patients within 24 hours, according to Orano Med.
The company said the facility will have capacity to produce up to 10,000 doses annually in the medium term. At full capacity, output could increase fivefold.
Orano Med said the site’s location is intended to support deliveries across Europe. The plant is about two hours from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Brussels-Zaventem airports, allowing treatment shipments to hospitals within the required time window. The company said the facility could serve nearly 70% of Europe’s population.
A second ATLab is being commissioned in Indianapolis to supply the North American market.
The French and U.S. facilities form part of Orano Med’s manufacturing network for lead-212 therapies, which includes production technology and access to raw materials. Orano Med said four lead-212 therapy candidates—developed independently or with Sanofi, Roche and Molecular Partners—are in human clinical development. The company also said it is pursuing preclinical programs in additional cancer types.
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