The sitting, chaired by Committee Chairman Srboljub Zivanovic, was attended by Dr Nebojsa Neskovic, scientific manager of the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences Physics Laboratory and Dr Tatjana Trtic-Petrovic, senior scientific associate at the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences Physics Laboratory, as well as Assistant Minister of Education and Science Prof. Dr Tibor Sabo and State Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Science Prof. Dr Radivoje Mitrovic.

Dr Neskovic and Dr Trtic-Petrovic pointed out that the facility for the production of radiopharmaceuticals was build within the “Tesla” accelerator installation and in 2007 the Government of the Republic of Serbia decided to cease financing the construction and equipment of the facility even though 70% of the work had been completed, the only remaining work being installing ventilation and securing equipment for the production of radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceuticals are medicines, substances containing radioactive components which, when introduced into the organism, enable precise, three-dimensional PET medical diagnostics - very important for oncology. After the budget funds were suspended the Laboratory’s scientific associates drafted an Elaboration justifying the creation of a radiopharmaceuticals production company in order to complete the recapitalization and enable the company to operate as a profitable enterprise and be the production centre for radiopharmaceuticals for the whole of Serbia. The Serbian Clinical Centre also expressed an initiative to commence the production of radiopharmaceuticals for its own needs which, the representatives of the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences Physics Laboratory believe, necessitates considerable financial investment for the construction of a facility which requires certain special conditions, as well as long-term training of experts for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, while the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences Physics Laboratory already meets all of these requirements.

In the continuation of the debate, the Committee members, Ministry representatives and representatives of the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences Physics Laboratory agreed that the Government should pass a decision to resume the financing or call a competition for interested investors post haste, because the field of production of radiopharmaceuticals is a profitable, new area the application of which benefits the end users, the citizens.