Covidien, McDermott Unit Partner on Radioisotope

Medical device maker Covidien Ltd. has said it signed a development agreement with a subsidiary unit of McDermott International Inc.

Under the deal, Covidien, which would not reveal the amount of the deal, and Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group Inc. will create technology to make a radioisotope used for molecular imaging and medical procedures. The companies will zero in on molybdenum-99, the parent isotope of technetium-99m, the most widely used radioisotope for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine procedures.

The company said in a statemet the United States currently imports 100 percent of its molybdenum-99, which is made at a handful of aging reactors and can be affected by unplanned shutdowns.