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ARRIVAL OF 220-TON CYCLOTRON MARKS A MAJOR MILESTONE IN CONSTRUCTION OF METRO NEW YORK’S FIRST PROTON THERAPY CENTER

ProCure Proton Therapy Center for Cancer Treatment on Pace to Begin Treating Patients in 2012

SOMERSET, N.J. (March 1, 2011) – A 220-ton cyclotron, the core of what will soon be New Jersey’s most advanced radiation treatment center, will be ending a 3,700-mile journey that began in Belgium, arriving at the construction site of the ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset, N.J., March 1.

The cyclotron, which accelerates the protons to two-thirds the speed of light before they are formed into a treatment beam, is the core piece of equipment used in proton therapy, an alternative to standard X-ray radiation for the treatment of cancer. Because of its precision, proton therapy spares more healthy tissue than standard radiation therapy and results in far fewer short- and long-term treatment side effects. The Center is the result of a collaboration between ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure), Princeton Radiation Oncology , and CentraState Healthcare System, and will be the first proton therapy center in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area.

“This is an important day and a significant milestone for the proton center and patients with cancer from throughout New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area,” said Hadley Ford, CEO of ProCure. “Construction is advancing ahead of schedule since our groundbreaking last April and we anticipate we will be treating patients by early 2012.”

“We are counting the days until we open this proton center and patients begin arriving for treatment,” said Brian Chon, M.D., medical director of ProCure Proton Therapy Center, Somerset, N.J., and a radiation oncologist and partner with Princeton Radiation Oncology, the radiation oncology practice that will provide clinical care at the Center. “A number of our physicians in this practice have experience with proton therapy and know what a meaningful advance and significant treatment option this is for many patients.”

Currently available at only nine centers in the United States, proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment and an important alternative to standard X-ray radiation for many patients with cancer and for some non-cancerous tumors. Proton therapy has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of a broad range of tumor types including brain, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, head and neck, lung and prostate as well as sarcomas and many pediatric cancers. The precision of proton therapy makes it especially effective for treating children and adults with anatomically complex tumors such as those at the base of the skull and tumors along the spinal cord.

“It is rewarding to be part of creating a proton center in a metropolitan region that offers such exceptional health care,” said Pierre Mottet, chief executive officer of Ion Beam Applications (IBA), the manufacturer of the cyclotron and other precision equipment that will be used in the Center. “The arrival of the cyclotron at the New Jersey center will mark the third center IBA and ProCure have worked on collaboratively to bring this important therapy to patients.”

The cyclotron traveled two weeks, leaving the port of Antwerp, Belgium, and entering the United States through the port of Newark, N.J.  It traveled aboard a cargo ship, arriving at the port where it was loaded onto two 15-axle, 100-foot-long trailers made specifically for extraordinarily large cargo. Traveling at a top speed of 40 mph, the trailers made the 40-mile trek to the Somerset site.

The cyclotron has an 18-foot diameter and stands 8 feet high.  After a hydrogen atom’s electron is removed, the remaining proton is accelerated to two-thirds the speed of light; electromagnets then steer groups of protons into a beam line. The beam is shaped specifically to conform to the tumor size and shape.  The precise delivery of protons to the patient is supported by a highly advanced computer controlled, state-of-the-art robotic patient positioning system (PPS). The PPS was invented by ProCure and developed with IBA.  Its unique design makes it more user friendly, with greater freedom of motion and flexibility than currently available systems.

The 60,000 sq. ft. Somerset, N.J. Center will have four state-of-the-art treatment rooms, including two Inclined Beam Rooms, a technology developed by ProCure. The Inclined Beam Room is a cost-effective and space-saving alternative to a gantry, the industry standard.  The Somerset Center will be the third proton center in the country with Inclined Beam Room technology, following ProCure’s Oklahoma City and suburban Chicago centers.

“We are thrilled to be this much closer to opening the state’s first proton therapy center,” said John T. Gribbin, FACHE, president and CEO of CentraState Health System of Freehold, N.J.  “The time is past due to have a proton therapy facility in this state and we are excited by the prospect of helping so many patients with cancer.”

The need for more proton centers is significant. According to the American Cancer Society, there are more than 48,000 new patients diagnosed with cancer in New Jersey alone each year and more than 103,000 in New York State. Sixty percent of those patients (28,800 per year in New Jersey and 61,800 in New York) will have radiation at some point during treatment. Using conservative estimates, about 30 percent of those cases could benefit from proton therapy (8,640 per year in New Jersey and 18,540 in New York).  At full capacity the Center will be able to treat 1,500 patients per year.

To learn more about proton therapy and the Center, visit procure.com/nj or call 877-887-5807.

About ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc.
ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. is a privately held health care company dedicated to improving the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy.  The company was founded in 2005 in Bloomington, Ind., and is the first to develop a network of proton therapy centers in cities across the United States. The ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City opened in July 2009 and the CDH Proton Center, A ProCure Center, in Warrenville, Ill. opened October 2010. ProCure’s third and fourth centers are under construction in Somerset, N.J. and Seattle; and others are in development in Detroit and South Florida. ProCure provides management leadership and a comprehensive approach for the design, construction, financing, staffing, training and day-to-day operations of proton therapy centers.  ProCure’s solution reduces the time, cost and effort necessary to build and operate a facility. ProCure is advancing proton therapy by collaborating with radiation oncology practices and hospitals to develop centers, through innovation and improvements in technology, and by providing training at the world’s only educational facility specializing in proton therapy.  For more information, visit procure.com

About CentraState Healthcare System
CentraState Healthcare System is a non-profit community health organization consisting of an acute-care hospital, an ambulatory care campus, three senior living communities, a Family Medicine Residency Program, and a charitable foundation. It is a member of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Network and a clinical research affiliate of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.  For more information, visit www.centrastate.com

About Princeton Radiation Oncology
Princeton Radiation Oncology (PRO), a division of Princeton Radiology PA, is a 10-physician group of board certified radiation oncologists who practice at five accredited cancer centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The radiation oncologists, together with their team of specialized physicists, dosimetrists, therapists, and nurses, provide patients with an array of advanced cancer treatments in an intimate, patient-centered environment.  PRO physicians are respected leaders in their field, having trained in and served on the faculties of some of the most prestigious institutions in the country. All have published literature in radiation oncology and many have been named as Top Doctors by their peers. A number of the PRO physicians have personal experience with advanced proton therapy from their training at Harvard's Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Princeton Radiology is a 33 physician group practice that provides diagnostic radiology services at one hospital and four imaging centers in central New Jersey, as well as radiation oncology services through PRO. In addition to providing direct patient care, the physicians of Princeton Radiology established a research division, Princeton Radiology Pharmaceutical Research (RadPharm), which is now an internationally recognized leader in the evaluation of the efficacy of novel pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.  

For more information, visit www.princetonradiationoncology.com

About IBA
Founded in 1986 in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, IBA is primarily active in the medical industry. It develops and markets state-of-the-art equipment and radiopharmaceuticals for cancer diagnosis and treatment. In addition, it uses the scientific expertise thus gained to provide electron accelerators for industrial sterilization and ionization. Listed on the pan-European stock exchange Euronext, IBA is included in the BEL Mid Index (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).

For more information, visit http://www.iba-worldwide.com