London Harley Street Proton Therapy Centre

RNS Number : 3041D

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC

28 January 2015

 



28 January 2015

ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC

("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")

London Harley Street Proton Therapy Centre

Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for treating cancer, announces that it has signed an agreement to lease a prestigious Harley Street location, which will become the UK's first Proton Therapy Centre using the Company's LIGHT System.

The centre will become a hub where patients from London, the rest of the UK and others further afield can have their cancers effectively treated with a leading-edge proton therapy system.

Advanced Oncotherapy has signed an agreement with Howard de Walden Estates Limited ("Howard de Walden Estates") granting a 50 year lease for the whole of 141 Harley Street and part of 143 Harley Street to the Company. The properties, which comprise approximately 8,000 sq ft, will be converted for use as a Proton Therapy Centre, and will house the first LIGHT machine to be constructed and operated in the UK.

The grant of the lease is subject to the relevant planning and other statutory consents being obtained for the redevelopment of the buildings. The total cost of the redevelopment will be borne by Howard de Walden Estates and is estimated at between £6-7 million. Work will start in July 2015, with the property expected to be handed over to Advanced Oncotherapy by the end of 2016 when the first LIGHT System will be ready, enabling patients to start treatments in 2017.    

The Company also has an agreement with SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse, Central New York State to build a US based proton therapy facility using the LIGHT system. The facility in Harley Street will be constructed in parallel with the US installation, and the Company is in early discussions with private healthcare providers in the UK to operate in this prestigious location.

Sanjeev Pandya, CEO of Advanced Oncotherapy, commented: "This is the first step in bringing the very latest in proton beam therapy to the UK and right into the heart of London. We are putting a proton system into 2 standard row houses, something that simply would not be possible with any of the existing proton systems that are currently operational.  Having a facility in central London will make proton therapy accessible to many cancer sufferers in the UK and others from abroad.  I would also like to add that I am delighted that this first UK Centre will be in Harley Street, without doubt one of the most prestigious medical addresses in the world."

Simon Baynham, Property Director at Howard de Walden Estates, said: "The Harley Street Medical Area is a unique concentration of medical excellence which is unrivalled on a global basis.  The Estate has been investing significantly in the medical area over the last 10 years or so, to ensure that the facilities in and around Harley Street continue to provide suitable medical buildings. Over the last 9 months, we have been working collaboratively with Advanced Oncotherapy to find a suitable location within the Harley Street area, for a LIGHT Proton Beam Therapy unit.  We are delighted that a location has been found, and subject to planning, our intention is to start work on providing this bespoke facility as soon as possible. 

It is hoped that the Proton Beam Therapy unit will be the first such centre to open in the UK, which can be used in the better treatment of all cancers which would ordinarily be treated with radiotherapy. Ideally, we would not ordinarily want to be the first, but to learn from others.  However, the benefits of Proton Beam Therapy will undoubtedly save lives, and having visited the research facilities in CERN, we are in no doubt that this technology can be designed, built and installed in one of our standard period buildings. 

We are therefore extremely excited that such a ground breaking and pioneering new facility is to be built in Harley Street, based upon advances and research carried out at CERN.  Such a facility should further enhance the tremendous work already being carried out in Harley Street, by some of the world's top oncologists and radiologists in the field of cancer."

Nick Plowman, Senior Clinical Oncologist to St Bartholomew's Hospital & Great Ormond Street Hospital, commented: "Proton beam radiotherapy is the radiotherapy of the future.  Collateral damage to adjacent normal body tissues is minimised by this form of radiation therapy. The next generation 'LIGHT' protons look to supplant current generation technology. It is great news for UK patients that London will spearhead this advance."

Advanced Oncotherapy Plc	www.avoplc.com
Sanjeev Pandya, CEO	Tel: [phone]
Nicolas Serandour, CFO
Westhouse Securities (Nomad & Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Antonio Bossi / David Coaten
Beaufort Securities (Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Saif Janjua / Jon Levinson
Walbrook PR (Financial PR & IR)	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus / Anna Dunphy	Mob: [phone] / Mob: [phone]

About Advanced Oncotherapy Plc www.avoplc.com

Advanced Oncotherapy's team based at CERN in Geneva focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator called Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology (LIGHT). LIGHT accelerates protons to the energy levels achieved in legacy machines but in a unit that is a quarter of the size and between a quarter and a fifth of the cost. This compact configuration delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates a greater precision and electronic control which is not achievable with older technologies.

Advanced Oncotherapy is a provider of particle therapy with protons that harnesses the best in modern technology. As a result, Advanced Oncotherapy will offer healthcare providers affordable systems that will enable them to treat cancer with an innovative technology as well as better health outcomes and lower treatment related side effects.

Advanced Oncotherapy continually monitors the market for any emerging improvements in delivering proton therapy and actively seeks working relationships with providers of these innovative technologies. Through these relationships, the Company will remain the prime provider of an innovative and cost-effective system for particle therapy using protons.

 

END

 

 

AGRPKODKOBKDNDB