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8-K - VARIAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC | v207677_8k.htm |
EXHIBIT
99.1
FOR
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Spencer
Sias, (650) 424-5782
Vice
President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
spencer.sias@varian.com
Varian
Medical Systems Receives 510(k) Clearance for its Proton Therapy
System
PALO
ALTO, Calif., January 10, 2011/PRNewswire/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR)
has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the Varian Proton Therapy System which
generates protons for precision radiotherapy of lesions, tumors, and conditions
anywhere where radiation treatment is indicated. It is the first
working system capable of delivering precise intensity modulated proton therapy
(IMPT) using pencil beam scanning technology.
“With
this clearance, we have reached a significant milestone in the development of
the Varian Particle Therapy (VPT) business and technology,” said Lester Boeh,
vice president of emerging businesses for Varian Medical Systems. “It
means our clinical partners will be able to treat patients as soon as their
systems are commissioned without the need to seek individual site-specific
clearances. This will make it easier for customers to secure
financing for their projects.”
Varian is
actively marketing its system under the ProBeam™ brand, and it has been selected
as the preferred supplier for several proton therapy projects, including the
Scripps Proton Therapy Center which is now under construction in San Diego where
treatments are scheduled to begin in 2013. The Varian ProBeam system
has also been selected for centers planned in Maryland, Italy and other
locations in the United States and Europe. Varian will not book an
order for any of these projects until contracts and financing are
completed.
Varian’s
IMPT technology gives clinicians more options for delivering dose more precisely
in order to spare more healthy tissue in the course of delivering
treatments. “Our scanning beam IMPT technology combines a high
quality of care with the potential for higher patient throughput and improved
cost efficiency, and we believe it will improve the economics and effectiveness
of proton therapy,” Boeh said.
Proton
therapy destroys tumors by delivering protons that stop at specified depths
within the anatomy, thereby reducing exposure of healthy
tissue. Varian’s scanning beam technology enables IMPT by modulating
dose levels on a spot-by-spot basis throughout the treatment
area. Irradiations from multiple angles are combined in an optimal
manner to improve control of dose distributions. Scanning beam
technology also eliminates the time-consuming need to manually insert separate
shaping accessories for each beam angle in order to match the beam to the shape
of the tumor.
Varian’s
scanning beam IMPT technology is already at work in the Rinecker Proton Therapy
Center in
Germany, which has now treated several hundred patients.
# #
#
Varian
Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading
manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other
medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and
brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing
comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology
practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray
imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies
X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection. Varian
Medical Systems employs approximately 5,100 people who are located at
manufacturing sites in North America, China and Europe and in its 79 sales and
support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com.
FORWARD
LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except
for historical information, this news release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Statements in this press release regarding future business, plans,
objectives, expectations and other similar matters; market acceptance of
products or technology for proton therapy; timing and ability to achieve certain
results; and any statements using the terms "will," "potential," and "believe"
are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These
risks and uncertainties include demand for the company's proton therapy
products; the company's ability to develop and commercialize new proton therapy
products; the company's ability to meet regulatory regulations or procedures;
the company's ability to protect the company's intellectual property; and the
other risks listed from time to time in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which by this reference are incorporated
herein. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of
the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update or
revise these forward-looking statements because of new information, future
events, or otherwise.