IBA'S STRATEGY PAYS OFF AS PROTON THERAPY GAINS MOMENTUM

IBA has been active during the first half of 2015, with major new commercial wins and technological innovations, says IBA CEO Olivier Legrain. “At the same time, our user base is the largest and the fastest-growing proton therapy community in the world,” he says. The year promises to be pivotal for proton therapy markets worldwide.

IBA was prepared for a strong start in 2015, according to Olivier Legrain. “Our numbers show our successes to date, strengthening our leadership position from different perspectives.”

IBA achieved some impressive A-grade wins over the past months. In the US, IBA was selected by two top-level reference cancer centers as the most experienced and fastest proton therapy provider in the market. The Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida will be equipped with IBA’s Proteus®PLUS three-gantry room configuration, including next generation Pencil Beam Scanning capability. Beaumont Health System also selected IBA for the installation in Royal Oak, Michigan, of a Proteus®ONE compact single-room proton therapy system. Construction has already started and the center is expected to treat its first patient in the spring of 2017. Beaumont has a yearly instream of approximately 11,000 new cancer patients.

“The Proteus®ONE system ties into the affordability strategy that we’re rolling out,” says Olivier Legrain. “Beaumont Health System moved into proton therapy because the advancements we made in proton technology cut the cost of the project in half and improved the dose delivery accuracy. They expect to treat double the volume of patients with the new technology. Three of IBA’s compact proton therapy solutions will be installed in the United Kingdom, as Proton Partners International (PPI), a private limited company, has signed with IBA to have a Proteus®ONE system installed in three private clinics.”

These UK projects are the result of the agreement IBA and Philips signed in September 2014. IBA and Philips have since shared expertise on a marketing as well as a research and development level to globally expand access to state-of-the art cancer care and lift diagnostic and treatment options to the highest levels. The collaboration has already achieved results: the Apollo Proton Therapy Center will bring proton therapy to India, the partnership has achieved a foothold with RadioPharma Solutions projects in Russia and the Dominican Republic, and it has been validated with another proton therapy acquisition commitment signed by PPI.

The IBA CEO also sees growing proof of the clinical relevance of proton therapy at its customers’ PT centers. “The PT center ramp-up at the Willis-Knighton Cancer Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, US, is impressive not only because of its speed, but also for the consensus on the clinical relevance of PT for a number of indications. Less than a full year after a spectacular 11-month time to first treatment, the center is fully on track to approach the expected target of 20 to 28 patients per day based on the 15% rule. Clinicians routinely treat prostate, chest wall or breast, brain, anorectal, head and neck and spinal cancer patients, and occasionally retreatment and palliative cases, sarcoma, bladder, lung and gynaecologic cancer patients.” Olivier Legrain points out this is supported by recent technological innovations in imaging (including CT-on-Rails and IBA’s alliance with Philips), and motion management, with IBA’s Universal Beam Triggering Interface. “We have more new technology under development that will help us improve the understanding of position and movement of tumors,” he says.

And the market clearly agrees with the vision and strategy of IBA, concludes Olivier Legrain. “I’m proud to see how the PT community supports our efforts. At the recent 2015 PTCOG annual meeting in San Diego, California, we saw widespread recognition and enthusiasm for our technological innovations. Our own User Meeting in March of this year was attended by some 100 users. It was an excellent opportunity for us to strengthen our understanding of the clinical point of view of proton therapy. These user meetings are essential to the success of further technological developments. The annual gathering is a boost for our engineers and experts as well as for the clinicians and physicians in our community, who see their user experience improve each year.”