RLS Radiopharmacies, a joint commission-accredited radiopharmacy network, is expanding its business operations with the addition of radiopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing (rCDMO) services. The new offering will enable RLS to meet growing customer and industry demand for regional manufacturing capacity and redundancy, custom drug development, radioisotope production and same-day delivery services. This will help derisk the growing radiopharmaceutical pipeline and ensure that healthcare professionals and their patients have safe and reliable access to these life-saving drugs.

RLS has 80,000 sq. ft. of available space across eight of its 31 radiopharmacies to the project. Operating under a distributed manufacturing model, RLS said in a statement that it will be the first in the industry to provide rCDMO services across all U.S. regions. RLS’s eight locations will be CGMP-ready by Q1 2024, equipped with skilled staff and state-of-the-art equipment for radiopharmaceutical development, production, and manufacturing.

“There are currently more than 400 novel radiopharmaceuticals in various states of FDA approval, which is great news for patients suffering from hard-to-treat diseases and conditions,” said RLS CEO Stephen Belcher. “However, while radiopharmaceuticals have much to offer, their success has been broadly hampered by manufacturing and supply chain issues. RLS aims to remedy this problem by bringing regional development, manufacturing and commercial distribution services to companies that want to guarantee patients have access to their products.”