Nordion
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | TSX: NDN NYSE: NDZ |
| Industry | Health Science |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Canada |
| Area served | Global |
| Key people | Steve West [1] |
| Products | Targeted Therapies, Sterilization Technologies, Medical Isotopes |
| Revenue | $244.8 million USD (2012) [2] |
| Employees | ~500 (2012) [2] |
| Website | http://www.nordion.com/ |
Nordion Inc. is a health science company that provides products used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. The company supplies targeted therapies, sterilization technologies and medical isotopes, and operates in more than 60 countries[citation needed].
Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with facilities in Vancouver, British Columbia and Laval, Quebec. Steve West is the company's CEO.
Contents |
History[edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2013) |
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Founded in 1946, originally the radium sales department of Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd., the division developed one of the first teletherapy units that used the radioisotope cobalt-60 to destroy cancerous tumours.
Soon after, the division was given responsibility for selling radioisotopes produced by the newly established nuclear research facility at Chalk River, Ontario. As a result, in 1951, Eldorado established a commercial products division (CPD) to manage the isotope business, especially cobalt-60 used in cancer treatment.
In 1952, the federal government created Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Crown corporation. Shortly thereafter, CPD was transferred to AECL, where it remained for the next 40 years and was renamed the radio-chemical division.
In 1988, ownership of the radio-chemical division was transferred from AECL to the Canadian Development Investment Corporation (CDIC). The company assumed a new name, Nordion International Inc. and was later sold to MDS Health Group in 1991.
In 2010, MDS Inc. completed a strategic repositioning which saw the Company divest its MDS Analytical Technologies and MDS Pharma Services businesses. The company is now focused on Nordion and its targeted therapies, sterilization technologies and medical isotopes businesses.
Also in 2010, shareholders of MDS Inc. approved a change of name from MDS Inc. to Nordion Inc. The Company officially changed its name to Nordion Inc. on November 1, 2010.
The company generated $244.8 million USD in revenues in the 2012 fiscal year, with over 70% of its revenue coming from within North America[citation needed].
Products[edit]
The company's products and services include:
Targeted therapies[edit]
Nordion's main targeted therapies product is TheraSphere, which is used in the treatment of inoperable liver cancer. TheraSphere (radioembolization) is a low toxicity, targeted liver cancer therapy that consists of millions of tiny glass beads containing radioactive yttrium-90. The glass radioactive beads (a mean diameter of 20-30 micrometers – about a third of a width of a human hair) are delivered directly to the liver tumors.
Sterilization technologies[edit]
Customers use Nordion's gamma-sterilization technologies to sterilize medical surgical supplies and devices, as well as certain consumer products, such as food and cosmetics.
Nordion supplies cobalt-60,[2] the isotope that produces the gamma radiation required to destroy harmful micro-organisms. The company also markets a family of production irradiators.
Medical isotopes[edit]
Nordion performs medical isotope processing, packaging, and delivery for diagnostic procedures.
The company offers isotopes including molybdenum-99 used in the manufacture of technetium-99m generators. Technetium is the primary isotope used in millions of nuclear cardiology procedures every year.
Nordion also offers services for radiopharmaceutical development, and clinical and commercial manufacturing.
Locations[edit]
The Nordion corporate headquarters are located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The headquarters are the main manufacturing facilities for medical isotopes, used in medical imaging and radiopharmaceuticals, and for cobalt-60 sources and industrial food irradiators.
The Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, facility is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia. In collaboration with Tri-University Meson Facility (TRIUMF), Canada's national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, our facility processes medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.
The Nordion Gamma Centre of Excellence (GCE) is a gamma irradiation research, training, and demonstration facility located in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The GCE is operated in partnership with the University of Quebec's Armand Frappier Institute.
Nordion has a European TheraSphere Customer Support Office in Belgium, and an Asia Pacific Sales Office in Hong Kong.
Awards and recognition[edit]
- Canada's Top 100 Employers, 2010 and 2011[3]
- National Capital Region's Top 25 Employers, 2007-2013[4]
- Ottawa Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Award[5]
- Best Employer for New Canadians[6]
- 2009 Ottawa Business Achievement – Company of the Year Silver Award[5]
- Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Leadership Award[5]
- ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Award[5]
- Return on Environment Partnership Award[5]
Community work[edit]
- Canadian Blood Services [7]
- Ottawa Food Bank [7]
- The Ottawa Hospital (Ride the Rideau and Gala for Research) [7]
- The University of Ottawa Heart Institute [7]
- Toy Mountain [7]
References and footnotes[edit]
- ^ *Nordion.com - Executive Management Team
- ^ a b c *2012 Annual Report (PDF)
- ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers and National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2011
- ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2012
- ^ a b c d e *Nordion.com - Awards and Recognition
- ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of Best Employers for New Canadians for 2012
- ^ a b c d e *Nordion: In the Community
