ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oncura, a unit of GE Healthcare and a leading provider of cancer treatment products, announced a non-exclusive North American distribution agreement with Theragenics Corporation to market Oncura’s complete line of Iodine-125 brachytherapy products. The one-year agreement, effective May 1, 2011, provides for additional one-year terms upon mutual agreement of the parties.
Theragenics, a medical device company serving the surgical products and prostate cancer treatment markets and their customers will now have access to Oncura’s OncoSeed™ RAPID Strand™, and Thin Seed™ prostate brachytherapy products, as well as BrachyStrand™ and BrachyMESH™ lung brachytherapy products. Oncura’s OncoSeed Model 6711 has the longest clinical history of any I-125 based seed product and is recognized as the industry "standard", in which all other products are compared.1. All of Oncura’s brachytherapy product offerings have been designed based on Model 6711.
In July 2010, Oncura and Theragenics announced an agreement allowing Oncura to market Theragenics’ TheraSeed®, the industry leading palladium-103 brand, in the US and Canada. That agreement runs through May 31, 2013 with additional one-year term options.
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“Both companies understand that the industry is changing, and we have paired up again to demonstrate the combined commitment of two industry leaders to support brachytherapy ” said Thomas Barker, Urology Product Leader for GE Healthcare and General Manager of Oncura. “Theragenics and Oncura share a unique understanding of the industry. We both have years of experience and are known for our quality and reliability. We recognize the value of our products and our brands and we are pleased to be able to expand our reach through this agreement.”
“This agreement is significant on a number of levels but first and foremost because it pairs up the two leading and most recognized brands in brachytherapy treatment and reinforces what the future of brachytherapy will look like.” said M. Christine Jacobs, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Theragenics.
“The agreement illustrates our commitment to this treatment and the physicians who champion it. Theragenics will continue to support them both in the marketplace and Washington, D.C., ensuring that doctors and patients will continue to have access to brachytherapy and the two leading brands. While this agreement is solely for North American distribution, we are excited about the doors it may open for potential prostate cancer treatment growth globally.”
About Theragenics
Theragenics Corporation operates two business segments: a surgical products business and a brachytherapy seed business. The surgical products segment serves a number of markets and applications, including, among other areas, interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, dental surgery, urology, veterinary medicine, pain management, endoscopy, and spinal surgery. The brachytherapy business manufactures and markets its premier product, the palladium-103 TheraSeed® device used primarily in the minimally invasive treatment of localized prostate cancer. The terms "Company," "we," "us," or "our" mean Theragenics Corporation and all entities included in our consolidated financial statements. For additional information, call Theragenics Investor Relations Department at (800) 998-8479 or visit www.theragenics.com.
About Oncura
Oncura was created in July 2003 as a joint venture of Amersham plc’s brachytherapy business. On April 8, 2004, General Electric (GE) completed its acquisition of Amersham and in 2006 GE Healthcare acquired 100% ownership of the Oncura Global Brachytherapy business. Oncura is a business unit of GE Healthcare and is a world leader in the research, development and commercialization of brachytherapy seeds. Oncura continues to set the benchmark in the development of innovated applications in brachytherapy, e.g. prostate cancer, lung cancer, ocular melanoma and other solid tumors. The manufacturing and quality assurance capabilities of GE Healthcare combined with Oncura’s knowledge and expertise in the field of brachytherapy uniquely place Oncura in position to further develop its global brachytherapy business. The goal of Oncura is to ensure that all cancer patients should have access to the minimally invasive benefits of brachytherapy when it is a suitable clinical option. With global R&D and manufacturing sites based in the US Oncura also maintains offices across Europe, Australia, and Asia. For more information, visit www.oncura.com.
1 Heintz BH, Wallace RE, Hevezi JM. Comparison of I-125 sources used for permanent interstitial implants. Med Phys. 2001 Apr;28(4):671-82.
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