In November 2014, I spoke with Carmen Bigles, the founder of Coqui Pharmaceuticals, a company that is preparing to build a $330 million medical isotope production facility near Gainesville, FL.
Since that discussion 11 months ago, Coqui has made steady progress in completing their construction and operating license application to the NRC for a class 104 license to build two medical isotope reactors.
They have also made considerable progress in the design of their production and administrative facilities.
Carmen and I got together on a call for an update this morning. You can hear the excitement in her voice as her company’s plans take shape and approach reality. Coqui is working with some highly qualified partner companies, including MPR Associates for engineering and license preparation, INVAP for reactor design and licensing support, Gresham, Smith and Partners for architectural design and Hogan Lovells US, LLP for legal/regulatory advice and consulting.
Though the license application has not yet been submitted to the NRC, it is in the final stages of preparation and should be finalized during the first half of 2016. Ms. Bigles is planning a big party to celebrate that milestone.
I hope you enjoy our conversation and agree that Coqui should a terrific employer for nuclear professionals in a couple of years.
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