SHINE Technologies is expanding distribution of a cancer treatment product to the United Arab Emirates through an agreement with Modawina Medical Company of Dubai.
The Janesville nuclear technology company recently announced the distribution partnership, which will bring SHINE’s Illumira product to patients in the UAE. Under the agreement, Modawina Medical Company will provide the product to nuclear medicine centers and other customers there.
Illumira is SHINE’s name for non-carrier-added lutetium-177, a radiopharmaceutical product that’s made at the Cassiopeia facility in Janesville. It’s used for targeted cancer therapies that aim to limit damaging nearby healthy cells.
The site can support up to 100,000 doses being produced each year, the company says, which are distributed for cancer treatment purposes around the world. The announcement notes the FDA recently expanded approval for Lu-117-based treatments for certain types of prostate cancer.
Ahmed Aboufaroukh, founder and CEO of MMC, says the new partnership will help the company “address the growing demand for targeted radiotherapies” for cancer treatment. The move is part of SHINE’s plan to expand access to its products in other markets while strengthening the supply chain for medical isotopes.
SHINE CEO and founder Greg Piefer says the Middle East “represents an exciting growth region” for advanced cancer therapies.
“We’re proud to help lead that growth,” he said in a statement. “What’s most exciting about expanding into the UAE with MMC, a partner with deep relationships with healthcare providers across the region, is the opportunity to deliver breakthrough cancer treatments for patients who may not have had access before.”
Meanwhile, Piefer was recently named as a recipient of UW-Madison’s 2025 Chancellor’s Entrepreneurial Achievement Award, which recognizes alumni and other university innovators for their contributions to entrepreneurship.
The university notes SHINE’s fusion-based technology was originally patented through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which handles patenting and licensing for UW-Madison research. Piefer has three degrees from the university.
“We’ve chosen some of the most difficult things to do on earth,” he said in the release. “But I tend to see the way forward and discount the difficulties. You have to, I think, to be an entrepreneur, or you just wouldn’t do it. “
See more on the UAE distribution agreement here.
