OLIVIER LEGRAIN, IBA CEO, EXPECTS THE PROTON THERAPY MARKET TO GROW.

Olivier Legrain, IBA CEO: “We are ready for Proton Therapy growth in all regions of the world”

IBA CEO Olivier Legrain expects the PT market to grow in the coming years, mainly because of increased cancer cases, growing international recognition of PT benefits and innovative, new compact solutions in the market with lower requirements in total cost of ownership, return on investment, patient recruitment and ramp-up time.
Although he sees slower growth in the US because of uncertainty following the introduction of ObamaCare, he sees faster growth in Europe, after a slow start. The public program in Europe is ambitious. Look at the Netherlands, the UK, Norway, Denmark, France and even in Belgium there is momentum in favor of proton therapy. In Asia, most important cities have a PT project, in a mix of public-private projects.
“Protons are the better particle for cancer treatment”, says Olivier Legrain. “Beside a perception of lack of proven outcome, the only drawback is the cost. We are focusing on that. ProteusONE is an answer to that: easier to implement, easier to finance. For ProteusONE, we offer a leasing facility with a big US bank (pending approval) and we have an agreement with a financial equity fund that specializes in big healthcare projects to finance Proteus One projects. We also work on the clinical aspects from a user viewpoint: helping our installed base to collect data, publish cases.”
Olivier Legrain expects to stay ahead of competition with faster delivery, enabled by continuous improvements in design, technological developments and building on the experience of the largest installed base. Last year we exceeded our SLA engagements on all sites, proving our reliability as a partner.
“We have many milestones this year for our customers to look forward to”, underscores Olivier Legrain. “In research, this would be the start of clinical research of PromptGamma, a gamma imaging technology, which will allow to adjust dose deposition and decrease fractionation. This would also increase throughput and lower the cost of a treatment. Adaptive therapy, fast PBS are also research fields that will lead us towards enlarging the range of indications for proton therapy.”