Nordion
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health Science |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Kevin Brooks[1] |
| Products | Gamma Technologies |
| Revenue | Private company |
Number of employees | ~350 (2015)[2] |
| Parent | Sotera Health LLC |
| Website | nordion |
Nordion Inc., a Sotera Health company, is a health science company that provides products used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. The company supplies gamma technologies Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with facilities in [Laval, Quebec|Laval]], Quebec. Kevin Brooks is the company's CEO. It was acquired by Sotera Health in 2014 for 805 million USD.[3]
History
Founded in 1946,[4] originally the radium sales department of Eldorado Mining and Refining Ltd., the division developed one of the first teletherapy units that used the radioisotope cobalt-60 to destroy cancerous tumours.
Soon after, the division was given responsibility for selling radioisotopes produced by the newly established nuclear research facility at Chalk River, Ontario. As a result, in 1951, Eldorado established a commercial products division (CPD) to manage the isotope business, especially cobalt-60 used in cancer treatment.
In 1952, the federal government created Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a Crown corporation. Shortly thereafter, CPD was transferred to AECL, where it remained for the next 40 years and was renamed the radio-chemical division.
In 1988, ownership of the radio-chemical division was transferred from AECL to the Canadian Development Investment Corporation (CDIC). The company assumed a new name, Nordion International Inc. and was later sold to MDS Health Group in 1991.
In 2010, MDS Inc. completed a strategic repositioning which saw the Company divest its MDS Analytical Technologies and MDS Pharma Services businesses. Also in 2010, shareholders of MDS Inc. approved a change of name from MDS Inc. to Nordion Inc. The Company officially changed its name to Nordion Inc. on November 1, 2010.[5]
In July 2013, Nordion completed the divestiture of its Targeted Therapies business to BTG plc.[6] The company is now focused on Nordion and its sterilization technologies and medical isotopes businesses.
The company generated $244.8 million USD in revenues in the 2012 fiscal year, with over 70% of its revenue coming from within North America.[2]
It was acquired by Sotera Health in 2014 for 805 million USD.[3] The company's press release stated that the acquisition created "the only vertically integrated sterilization company in the world."[7]
Products
The company's products and services include:
Gamma technologies
Customers use Nordion's gamma-sterilization technologies to sterilize medical surgical supplies and devices, as well as certain consumer products, such as food and cosmetics.
Nordion supplies cobalt-60,[8] the isotope that produces the gamma radiation required to destroy harmful micro-organisms. The company also markets a family of production irradiators.
Former medical isotope business
Nordion used to process, package and deliver medical isotopes used for diagnostic procedures and treatment of diseases including cardiac and neurological conditions and several types of cancer.
The company used to offer both reactor and cyclotron based isotopes, including molybdenum-99 used in the manufacture of technetium-99m generators. Technetium is the primary isotope used in millions of nuclear cardiology procedures every year.
Nordion also used to offer contract manufacturing services which can include medical isotopes for clinical trials or commercial development. All of the above stated medical isotope business is no longer offered by Nordion as this business was divested to BWXT in 2018.
Locations
The Nordion corporate headquarters are located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The headquarters are the main manufacturing facilities for cobalt 60 isotope for sterilization technology.
The Nordion Gamma Centre of Excellence (GCE) is a gamma irradiation research, training, and demonstration facility located in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The GCE is operated in partnership with the University of Quebec's Armand Frappier Institute.
Nordion has an Asia Pacific Sales Office in Hong Kong.
Awards and recognition
- Canada's Top 100 Employers, 2010 and 2011[9]
- National Capital Region's Top 25 Employers, 2007-2013[10]
- Ottawa Business Journal's Forty Under 40 Award[11]
- Best Employer for New Canadians[12]
- 2009 Ottawa Business Achievement – Company of the Year Silver Award[11]
- Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Leadership Award[11]
- ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Award[11]
- Return on Environment Partnership Award[11]
Community work
References and footnotes
- ^ *Nordion.com - Leadership Team
- ^ a b *Nordion Corporate Presentation
- ^ a b "Nordion Agrees to Sweetened Offer from Sterigenics". wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. June 2, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ "About Nordion". nordion.com. Nordion. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ *Nordion.com - Our History
- ^ *Nordion.com - News Release: Nordion Completes Divestiture of Targeted Therapies Business to BTG plc
- ^ "Sterigenics International Completes $826 Million Acquisition of Nordion Inc". businesswire.com. Business Wire. August 6, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nordionwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers and National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2011
- ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of National Capital Region's Top Employers for 2012
- ^ a b c d e *Nordion.com - Awards and Recognition
- ^ *Eluta.ca: Nordion Inc. Chosen as one of Best Employers for New Canadians for 2012
- ^ a b c *Nordion: In the Community
