Financing closed for first proton therapy center in New Jersey
ProCure, New Jersey Physicians and Hospital to Offer Advanced Cancer Therapy
Somerset, N.J. - Feb. 23, 2010 - ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc. (ProCure), Princeton Radiation
Oncology and CentraState Health System announced today that they have closed financing
and funded capital for the proton therapy center they are building in Somerset, N.J. An April
groundbreaking ceremony is planned for the Center and they anticipate treating patients in
2012. It will be the first four-room proton therapy center in New Jersey and the metro-New York
City area.
Currently available at only a handful of centers in the United States, proton therapy is an
alternative to X-ray radiation for treating cancer. The therapy spares healthy tissue and results in
far fewer short- and long-term side effects.
According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, nearly 48,000 people in New Jersey
and 101,000 in New York were diagnosed with cancer in 2009. Using conservative estimates,
approximately 27,000 of those patients could be candidates for proton therapy. The proton
center in Somerset will be able to treat about 1,500 patients a year.
"We were able to close financing on our third proton therapy center because of Princeton
Radiation Oncology and CentraState Health System, a passionate group of physicians and a
hospital determined to provide the region with access to proton therapy," said Hadley Ford, CEO
of ProCure. "We are ready to start construction immediately, taking us a step closer to providing
this important cancer treatment to more patients."
"A number of our radiation oncologists have treated cancer with proton therapy and seen
firsthand how effective it can be. We are eager to provide this proven treatment option to our
patients," said Brian Chon, M.D., a partner with Princeton Radiation Oncology, the radiation
oncology practice that will provide clinical care at the Center. "We chose to align our group with
ProCure because it has a depth of experience developing centers and providing an exceptional
patient experience."
"CentraState is honored to be a part of this significant endeavor," said John T. Gribbin, FACHE,
president & CEO of CentraState Health System of Freehold, N.J. "We've visited ProCure's center
in Oklahoma and knew that we wanted that same treatment option here for the many patients
who could benefit in our region."
The proton center will be constructed at 101 - 103 Cedar Grove Lane in Somerset (Franklin
Township), N.J. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned for April 7. The 60,000-square-foot facility
will have four treatment rooms, and all equipment to be used to treat patients in the center has
been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The development of the treatment
center will create approximately 100 full-time jobs and 400 temporary positions for construction
and start-up operations. New Jersey -based contractors will be used to construct the facility. The
project will be funded entirely through private sources.
The New Jersey facility is one of five centers under construction or in development by ProCure,
which opened the first center in its network in Oklahoma City in 2009. ProCure's second center,
under construction in suburban Chicago (Warrenville), is on target to open in early 2011. Others
are under development in Seattle, Detroit and South Florida.
To learn more about proton therapy and the Center, visit procure.com/OurLocations/NewJersey.aspx or call 888-592-2854.
ABOUT PROCURE TREATMENT CENTERS
ProCure Treatment Centers, Inc., based in Bloomington, Ind., was founded in 2005 to improve
the lives of patients with cancer by increasing access to proton therapy. ProCure collaborates
with leading radiation oncology practices and hospitals and provides management leadership
and a comprehensive approach for the design, construction, financing, staffing, training and day-
to-day operations of world-class proton therapy centers. ProCure's solution reduces the time,
cost and effort necessary to create a facility. ProCure is the only company in the world with a
center open and treating patients (Oklahoma City), another under construction in suburban
Chicago (Warrenville) to open in early 2011, and four others in development (Somerset, N.J.;
Seattle; South Florida; and Detroit). ProCure's Training and Development Center is the first
facility in the world dedicated exclusively to proton therapy.
For more information, visit http://www.procure.com
About Princeton Radiation Oncology
Princeton Radiation Oncology (PRO), a division of Princeton Radiology Associates, PA (PRA), is
a 10 physician group of board certified radiation oncologists who provide an array of advanced
cancer treatments at five accredited cancer centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. PRO
physicians are respected leaders in their field and have trained at premier cancer centers
including MGH/Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania and Memorial
Sloan Kettering. 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. For
more information, visit www.princetonradiationoncology.com
PRA is a 33 physician group practice which provides diagnostic radiology services at five sites
in central New Jersey and radiation oncology services through PRO. In addition to providing
direct patient care, the physicians of PRA 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.
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