A Florida pharmaceutical company that supplies one of Virginia’s biggest health-care systems has set up shop in Henrico.
Orlando-based Triad Isotopes leased a 3,500-square-foot space at 8751 Park Central Drive, in an office park off Parham Road.
Vice president of operations Bill Crawford said the new location should help the company better serve the Bon Secours Health System, its largest client in Central Virginia.
“There’s a short turnaround time on the kind of medicine we produce,” Crawford said. “If we want to serve a community, we really need to be in that community.”
Triad makes nuclear pharmaceuticals, or specialized medicines infused with small doses radioactive material. They’re used mostly for diagnostic imaging.
When injected into a patient, the medicine gives doctors information a camera can’t catch, Crawford said.
“In a CT scan or X-ray, you can only see the structure of the organs,” Crawford said. “Radioactive medicine is actually taken up into the organ system. It’s used a lot in cardiac imaging – you can actually see blood flowing to the heart.”
The made-to-order pharmaceuticals are only good for between six and 12 hours after they’re produced.
Before breaking into the Richmond market, Crawford said the company served Bon Secours hospitals out of a facility in Maryland. The commute made it difficult to respond to emergency requests, he said.
The Henrico facility makes about 100 doses a day, and 85 percent of that goes to Bon Secours. Since opening here in February, Triad has picked up contracts with Cardiology of Virginia and DigiRad in Williamsburg.
Triad invested about $500,000 to renovate the space, which Crawford said is typical for a new location.
The company has almost 1,000 employees, including eight in the Richmond space. It has more than 60 locations across the country.
