National Institute for Radioelements officialises the appointment of its new General Manager

The Board of Directors of IRE (National Institute for Radioelements) has just announced the appointment of Erich Kollegger as General Manager of IRE and its innovation subsidiary, IRE Elit. He succeeds Jean-Michel Vanderhofstadt in the role. Erich Kollegger is already very familiar with IRE, having held the role of acting General Manager since 27 March.

A graduate of ‘Haute Ecole Léonard de Vinci’ (Brussels), Erich Kollegger started his career in the engineering and maintenance sector in 1999 when he joined Jacobs Engineering. Over the course of his career, the 50-year-old Belgian has acquired extensive experience in sectors as varied as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. Before joining the IRE team in March 2018, Erich Kollegger worked as Plant Manager for the Baxter Group at its Lessines facility.

Erich Kollegger, the new General Manager of IRE and IRE ELiT, shares his vision for the Institute’s future:

“IRE is, and intends to remain, a major global player in the production of the Molybdenum-99 radioisotope. For this, IRE has to overcome a number of challenges: the arrival on the market of new producers using different technologies, an increase in the cost of irradiating uranium, and competition from other radioisotopes for medical imaging. This is why IRE has undertaken development of an innovative technology for the production of Molybdenum-99, based not on Uranium-235 but on Molybdenum-100. This project, called SMART, has recently received approval from the Belgian government for a subsidy for the R&D phase under the National Investment Plan.

Furthermore, since 2010, IRE ELiT has served as our channel for diversification and a driver of growth by designing products that are not only keeping with our core area of expertise – radioelements - but are also fulfilling the needs of the medical world in terms of innovation. With the same tradition of excellence as IRE, we are certain that IRE ELiT can become a major player in the radiopharmaceuticals sector, as evidenced by the European marketing authorisation obtained a few months ago for our Gallium-68 generator which offers an advanced alternative for diagnosis of patients suffering from neuroendocrine tumours and recurrent prostate cancer”.

 

Bérénice Pignol

IRE - IRE ELiT

Ariane Goossens

Whyte Corporate Affairs

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About IRE and IRE ELiT

Founded in 1971 and based in Fleurus, in the province of Hainaut, the National Institute of Radioelements (IRE), a Belgian foundation of public interest, is one of the very few players worldwide capable of producing and developing certain radioisotopes used in nuclear medicine.

IRE is notably the global leader in the production of Molybdenum‑99, the “parent” isotope of metastable Technetium-99m. Using a gamma camera, this isotope makes it possible to observe a patient’s internal anatomy in real time (heart, bones, lungs, thyroid, brain, kidneys, etc.) and to diagnose certain diseases at an early stage. IRE supplies around 50% of European demand for Mo-99 and 25% of global production, a share that can rise to up to 65% during periods of global supply tension.

At the same time, IRE ELiT, a subsidiary founded in 2010, is one of the two global leaders in pharmaceutical‑grade Ge-68/Ga-68 generators for human use. Gallium-68 (Ga-68) is a key isotope for high‑precision PET imaging - particularly for neuroendocrine tumours and prostate cancer - and for personalised medicine in radioligand therapy (RLT) strategies. IRE-ELiT’s Ga-68 generators are currently marketed in around 40 countries.

Beyond its production activities aimed at improving patient care and quality of life, IRE also contributes - through its IRE Lab division - to environmental protection and monitoring. The Institute offers services for radioactivity measurement in various samples, radiological characterisation of waste and contaminated materials, as well as consultancy and technical support in the radiological and nuclear fields.

Today, IRE and IRE ELiT employ 300 people, all committed to translating cutting‑edge scientific advances into diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for patients.

More information: www.ire.eu

Contact

www.ire.eu