Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Acquires Exclusive Iodine Extraction Technology and Appoints Inventor as Director of Chemistry

Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd. has announced a strategic advancement by securing 100% ownership of an innovative iodine extraction technology and appointing its inventor, Dr. Brian Mueller, as the company's Director of Chemistry. The acquisition of the intellectual property rights to the proprietary "Mueller Process" is expected to enable Voyageur to advance its iodine extraction projects with enhanced cost efficiency, operational flexibility, and long-term supply-chain security.

Initial bench scale testing of the Mueller Process on brine water from the Anadarko and West Texas Basins has shown promising results, including greater than 90% yield from incoming brine to technical grade iodine and conversion to 99.5% pure iodine. The process is described as environmentally friendly, featuring a closed system with no volatile organic compounds or hazardous emissions, and producing a "clean brine" output useful for industrial applications. These results, while not independently verified, were obtained using laboratory iodometric testing with standard thiosulfate titrant.

Brent Willis, CEO & President of Voyageur, emphasized the strategic importance of this development, noting that provisional patent applications for the intellectual property were filed in 2025, with full utility patent applications expected in 2026. The company's immediate focus is on iodine extraction in the Anadarko Basin, where this technology may allow efficient production of iodine flake or potentially bypass the flake process entirely to directly create iodine drugs through Voyageur's proprietary Streamlined API process.

The potential capability to directly create iodine drugs could position Voyageur to achieve one of the lowest cost structures in the multi-billion dollar iodine contrast drug industry. The global contrast media market was estimated at USD 6.77 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 13.86 billion by 2033, according to market research from https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/contrast-media-contrast-agents-market. The North American market for iodine contrast media represents approximately 39.07% of this global market, valued at $2.65 billion annually.

Voyageur's Streamlined API process, created by Bradley Willis, the company's COO, aims to set a new industry benchmark by simplifying iodine contrast drug production through direct extraction from brine water and implementation of a closed loop manufacturing process. This approach has the potential to position Voyageur, through a wholly owned subsidiary, to become the first U.S. company to produce iodine drugs domestically, thereby mitigating supply chain risks and establishing new standards for cost efficiency.

The new technology also opens possibilities for potential elemental mineral extraction from Voyageur's ULI claim block in the Paradox Basin, Utah, targeting minerals including lithium, iodine, bromine, boron, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Voyageur has also announced termination of its collaboration with Altillion Inc., previously established on June 23, 2025, while acknowledging Altillion's contributions during their partnership.