Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has announced the acquisition of exclusive intellectual property rights to a proprietary iodine extraction technology and the appointment of its inventor, Dr. Brian Mueller, as the company's Director of Chemistry. This strategic move is central to the company's vertical integration strategy for producing pharmaceutical-grade iodine used in medical imaging contrast media.
The company acquired the rights to the "Mueller Process" on January 11, 2026. Initial bench-scale testing of the process on brine water from the Anadarko and West Texas Basins reportedly achieved greater than 90% yield to technical grade iodine and conversion to 99.5% pure iodine. The process is described as environmentally friendly, being a closed system with no volatile organic compounds or hazardous emissions, and it produces a "clean brine" output suitable for industrial reuse. These results, generated by Dr. Mueller, have not been independently verified, with third-party evaluation expected in 2026.
Brent Willis, CEO of Voyageur, emphasized the technology's potential impact. "This may enable us to bypass the flake process entirely, directly creating iodine drugs through our proprietary Streamlined API process," Willis stated. He explained this could position Voyageur to achieve one of the lowest cost structures in the iodine contrast drug industry. The technology also opens potential for extracting other elemental minerals like lithium and bromine from the company's Utah claim block.
The acquisition and appointment are significant within the context of the growing global contrast media market, which was estimated at USD 6.77 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 13.86 billion by 2033, according to data from Grand View Research. The North American market for iodine contrast media represents approximately 39.07% of this global share, valued at an estimated $2.65 billion annually.
Dr. Mueller brings over 40 patents in related fields to his new role. Voyageur's broader strategy involves integrating the Mueller Process with its internally developed Streamlined API process, created by COO Bradley Willis. This combined approach aims to simplify production by extracting iodine directly from brine water in a closed-loop manufacturing system. The company believes this could position it, through a subsidiary, to become the first U.S. company to produce iodine contrast drugs domestically, thereby mitigating supply chain risks.
Concurrently, Voyageur announced it has terminated its collaboration with Altillion Inc., which began on June 23, 2025. The company stated it appreciates Altillion's contributions during their partnership.
