Siemens Healthineers has announced a new state-of-the-art radiopharmaceutical production facility in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, bringing £26 million of investment and creating a home for up to 40 highly skilled jobs. Designed as the UK’s first 8X radiopharmacy, with eight times the production capacity of a standard Radiopharma facility, the site will produce biomarkers used in hospital scans to detect conditions such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s at an early stage. At a time when demand for PET imaging is outpacing supply, the facility is expected to help reduce patient wait times and give the NHS greater confidence in reliable access to these critical diagnostics.
These biomarkers, also known as radiotracers, contain a small amount of a pharmaceutical tracer, which are injected into patients before a PET/CT scan. Radiotracers travel through the body and highlight areas where disease may be present, allowing doctors to spot problems that a standard X-ray, CT or MRI cannot see. Because radiotracers have a very short shelf life, they must be manufactured close to where patients are treated and delivered the same day. Close to the M1, the Dunstable site has been strategically located to enable rapid distribution to hospitals and scanning centres across the country.
At the heart of the facility will be two advanced machines called cyclotrons, which are used to produce the materials needed to make these radiotracers. The site is designed so that these machines can operate independently, ensuring production can continue even if one is offline for maintenance. This built-in redundancy will help provide a consistent and reliable supply for the NHS, with capacity to serve hospitals and imaging centres nationwide.
The facility also positions Siemens Healthineers at the forefront of a type of precision medicine known as theranostics, where the same technology used to diagnose a disease can also be used to treat it. Rather than simply detecting a condition such as cancer, doctors could use these techniques to target and treat it with far greater accuracy – opening up new possibilities for personalised patient care. The Dunstable site has been designed with this future in mind.
Located within the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, one of the UK’s leading areas for science and innovation, the site is well placed to contribute to local economic growth. Named one of the Best 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2024-2025, Siemens Healthineers will explore how the Dunstable facility can support apprenticeship programmes and partnerships with local schools, colleges and universities, helping to build the next generation of talent in this fast-growing sector.
Councillor Adam Zerny, leader of Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “This investment in radiopharmacy from Siemens Healthineers is a real vote of confidence in Dunstable and Central Bedfordshire. It’s a facility which will be able to support patients across the country while bringing jobs and training opportunities to our area. Central Bedfordshire is an exceptionally well-connected area, and has a well-educated and capable workforce; it’s no surprise to see such businesses locating to the area.”
Ghada Trotabas, managing director of Siemens Healthineers Great Britain and Ireland states: “The radiopharmaceutical market is accelerating, and supply must not become the limiting factor. That is why we are investing in an 8X radiopharmacy here in the UK, the first facility of its kind, designed to deliver eight times the production capacity of one of our conventional radiopharmacies. This is not just about scale. It is about resilience, reliability, and long-term certainty of supply. Above all, it is about giving the NHS, and the patients it serves, the confidence that access to critical diagnostics will keep pace with growing clinical demand, today and into the future.”
The investment builds on the global expertise of Siemens Healthineers in radiopharmaceutical production. The company operates a network of more than 60 radiopharmacies worldwide, including 18 across Europe, and brings over 20 years of experience in the UK. This track record underpins a continued commitment to delivering innovation reliably and safely into clinical practice.
Explore the full story behind the UK’s first 8X radiopharmacy here.
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