NorthStar Medical Technologies, Hendricks Commercial Properties Sign Agreement for Beloit Facility Development
MADISON, WI – September 26, 2012 – NorthStar Medical Technologies, LLC (NorthStar), today announced that it has signed an agreement with Hendricks Commercial Properties, LLC (HCP) to develop a state-of-the-art medical isotope production facility in the Gateway Business Park of Beloit, Wisconsin. The facility will be built to suit for lease. Once complete, the facility will allow for the safe, non-uranium-based production of Molybdenum-99, a medical isotope used daily in the U.S. for over 50,000 diagnostic medical procedures—and currently supplied entirely via importation from foreign nuclear reactors.
NorthStar seeks to become the first domestic Molybdenum-99 supplier, helping to address supply shortages, as well as security and logistical complexities associated with the importation of this critical radioisotope. The Company has developed a production methodology that uses linear accelerators and non-uranium based raw materials, and therefore does not result in any high-level radioactive waste. Earlier this month, NorthStar began its approval process with the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) for its novel approach through the filing of its first required submission.
“NorthStar has been producing Molybdenum-99 and its daughter Tc99m since 2007. Since then we have been working diligently to reduce the cost of our facility and improve the productivity of our proprietary processes. As a result, the projected 200,000 square foot facility and capital equipment to cost $194 million has been reduced in size by nearly 50% and will be built at a substantially reduced cost. In addition, because our waste stream is benign, especially when compared to uranium-based production of Molybdenum-99, we have effectively changed our facility design from a “single use facility” to a “multi-use facility” making it attractive for a developer to build and lease the facility back to us. We are very pleased to sign this agreement with HCP, whose parent company Hendricks Holding Company, Inc. is our lead investor in NorthStar and an invaluable partner to us,” said George Messina, NorthStar’s CEO. “We look forward to jointly developing this important facility, and to contributing to a bright and prosperous future for the local economy.”
According to Diane Hendricks, CEO of Hendricks Commercial Properties, “HCP is committed to the success of Beloit and surrounding Rock County communities. Partnering with an innovative, game-changing business such as NorthStar will bring more jobs to our community, and will raise Beloit’s national profile as a hub for high technology businesses.”
NorthStar and HCP are actively working on the design of the facility and expect to break ground in 2013, with completion slated for mid-2014.
About NorthStar Medical Technologies, LLC
NorthStar Medical Technologies, LLC is the parent company of NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC, which was founded in 2006 to address the needs of the nuclear medicine market in the United States. The company is committed to resolving supply challenges that have plagued the industry and have challenged production supply, thereby stalling clinical research. NorthStar’s patented technologies include innovative non-uranium based Molybdenum-99 production methods, a novel separation chemistry system, and tools for the nuclear medicine market. Learn more at www.northstarnm.com.
About Hendricks Commercial Properties, LLC
Hendricks Commercial Properties, LLC (HCP) invests, manages and develops real estate throughout the United States. HCP specializes in net leased real estate investments, management and development with outside-of-the-box solutions to the most challenging of real estate needs. The company prides itself on being a reliable landlord that is value and quality conscious, while maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit that allows innovation in delivering exceptional quality and service to all of its current and future tenants. Currently managing over 15 million square feet of real estate, HCP focuses its real estate efforts primarily on industrial, retail and office/mixed use investments and projects. Learn more at www.hendricksgroup.net.