MON AM News: SHINE expanding distribution to UAE under new agreement; Lawmakers spark new effort to exempt cigar bars from smoking ban

April 28, 2025

— 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.

— Lawmakers are reigniting an effort this session at exempting cigar lounges from an early 2000s-era law banning smoking in most public places in the state.

But the proposal is again facing stiff opposition from health-related groups, despite changes meant to allay concerns it would weaken the state’s smoke-free air law and cause regulatory confusion. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association has yet to take a stance on the latest measure.

Rep. Nate Gustafson, R-Fox Crossing, introduced a bill last session that would have exempted tobacco bars, also known as cigar lounges, from the ban. The proposal didn’t see a vote in either chamber.

The latest version, SB 211, would also exempt tobacco bars from the ban, but only if they existed on or after June 4, 2009, only allow cigar and pipe smoking, and aren’t a retail food establishment.

Gustafson said the provision to prohibit retail food establishments from operating as cigar lounges was added in response to concerns from stakeholders.

“That came from the response of not only just constituents, but also from restaurants that said, ‘Hey, we don’t want those who are operating with restaurants to just, you know, decide turn of a key that they’re gonna also start being a cigar bar,’” Gustafson said. “And so I agreed with that, I think a lot of people would agree with that as well. So we made that change, and I think that change has actually brought more bipartisan support to this bill this session compared to last.”

The Wisconsin Restaurant Association opposed the bill last session. Executive Vice President Susan Quam told WisPolitics the group is “carefully monitoring and discussing the changes made by the author and no official decision has been made yet by our board of directors.”

Last session, WRA expressed concerns that the current threshold for what is considered a tobacco or cigar bar is too low. Under current law, a tobacco bar is defined as a tavern that earns 15% or more of its annual gross income from the sale on the premises — other than from a vending machine — of cigars and pipe tobacco.

“We also have concern that the bill does not clarify how enforcement agencies would access and determine whether that sales volume requirement is being met,” Quam said in written comments on the previous bill in 2023.

Smoking has been banned in most public places in Wisconsin since 2010 after former Dem Gov. Jim Doyle signed the prohibition into law. The ban includes an exemption for retail tobacco stores and tobacco bars in existence before June 3, 2009. According to CigarScore.com, a website that tracks cigar lounges across the country, at least 17 cigar lounges currently operate in Wisconsin.

While WRA has yet to take a position, a coalition of more than a dozen health groups sent a letter on April 2 to lawmakers urging them to reject the bill. They argued the proposal would weaken the state’s widely supported public smoking ban, and includes a loophole that would allow for the smoking of “little cigars.”

See the full story at WisPolitics.

— A hospital fee that spurs additional federal revenue for providers while covering other costs is unlikely to run afoul of cost-cutting measures DC Republicans have floated for the Medicaid program.

But those talks in Washington could complicate Gov. Tony Evers’ call in the budget to triple the hospital assessment, a move the state’s largest hospital association generally supports.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association began pitching the Capitol last fall on increasing the assessment, which hasn’t changed since it was implemented in 2009. WHA President and CEO Eric Borgerding argued that with costs increasing significantly over the past 16 years, it made sense to look at increasing the assessment to the maximum allowed to boost hospital revenues.

He also downplayed the possibility that the coming federal budget could jeopardize what Evers has proposed. The net impact of the guv’s budget also would more than triple the payments hospitals receive each year under the arrangement.

“At this point, I’ve seen nothing coming out of Washington that would jeopardize not only the existing assessment, but nothing coming out of Washington that would jeopardize increasing it in a way that would allow us to start catching up to inflation,” Borgerding said.

See more at WisPolitics.

— Rivermark Medical has begun enrolling patients in a clinical study of its FloStent product, the Milwaukee company announced.

The product is meant for men with lower urinary tract symptoms caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, commonly known as an enlarged prostate. The RAPID III study is focused on safety and effectiveness of the FloStent, which can “restore normal urinary flow” while limiting patient recovery time, according to the company.

The announcement notes BPH affects nearly 40 million men in the United States.

Dr. Sheldon Freedman, a urologist in Las Vegas, recently conducted the first procedure for the study. He said the product “represents a meaningful step forward” for men with BPH, offering a non-surgical, reversible approach to treatment.

“We’re excited to be the first site to enroll in the RAPID III study and look forward to offering our patients an option that preserves confidence while effectively addressing urinary symptoms,” he said in a statement.

See the release.

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— Sen. Rob Hutton says the accelerated closure of a STEM school in Wauwatosa is a “significant setback” for students that will undermine employer needs.

The Brookfield Republican on Friday slammed the Wauwatosa School District’s move to close its WSTEM school — located inside Wilson Elementary School — earlier than expected, following the 2025-26 school year.

The local school board had reportedly voted last year to gradually shut down the school over a five-year period, but decided in a recent meeting to close it after the next school year. Hutton notes this comes after “months” of locals expressing concern about the impact of shutting down the program.

In response to the reversal, Hutton says he’s urging the school district to “explore options” for continuing to provide opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

“STEM education is crucial in preparing our students for a future in which those knowledge, skills and abilities will be sought after and desperately needed by employers,” Hutton said in a statement. “Most importantly, this decision undermines many great opportunities for students who choose to pursue those fields of study.”

Meanwhile, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty had previously filed a complaint against the Wauwatosa School District for its plan to shut down the STEM program, calling the move a “racially discriminatory plan.” WILL claims the district is phasing out STEM programs because “too many white students” use them.

The group says a district task force was directed to address “challenges” and concerns, including that some programs and schools aren’t as diverse as the district’s overall population.

“Shutting down science and math programs because too many white students are in the program is despicable, and illegal,” WILL Deputy Counsel Dan Lennington said in a statement. “As we promised to do, WILL is taking every legal action available to reverse this damaging decision.”

See Hutton’s release and see more in education headlines below.

— The Wisconsin Economic Development Association has named previous board chair Melissa Hunt as its new president and CEO.

The nonprofit organization late last week announced Hunt will take over for interim leader Kathryn Berger, who’s been at the helm since August 2024.

Hunt is currently a planning and economic development professional at Ayres Associates in Waukesha, and previously worked for engineering firm Vierbicher, based in Milwaukee. She’s also worked for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. as a regional economic development director.

See the release.

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