At the First International Forum on Nuclear Medicine of the BRICS countries, it was proposed to establish a headquarters for joint work and coordination to develop nuclear medicine. This is reported by the official website of the Russian Government.

The initiative was supported by Ivan Stilidi, Russia’s chief freelance oncologist, who suggested starting with the organisation of such a headquarters in Moscow. Leaders from other countries expressed support for the idea, noting the need to develop common standards for BRICS countries and to share technologies.

The forum also discussed co-operation in isotope production and radiopharmaceuticals.

Talking to reporters, Abdulaziz Al-Shugair from Saudi Arabia, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology at King Faisal Medical Research Centre, said nuclear medicine should be available to all, but each country has different capabilities, so there is a need to complement each other. “Some countries are further advanced than others, some of the countries have capabilities that other countries can benefit from. I think this should be the kind of highway that will provide a roadmap and that will allow us to develop together and also develop the medical service in our countries and in the BRICS countries,” he added.

According to the director of the Institute of Nuclear and Energy Research, Isolda Costa from Brazil, their institute is actively developing projects on the production of lutetium isotopes, and co-operation with Russia is now being considered. “We would like to start new research projects with BRICS countries on actinium radioisotope – this is something we can do together,” she reported.

The First BRICS International Forum on Nuclear Medicine takes place on 20-21 June in St. Petersburg.

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