LYON, France, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EDAP TMS S.A. the global leader in High Intensity Focused Ultrasound treatment of prostate cancer announces the launch of Ablatherm-HIFU services at Hospital Privado da Boavista, Porto, Portugal, the first HIFU treatment center in Portugal. Boavista Hospital will be using the Ablatherm-HIFU device under EDAP’s innovative fixed installation Revenue-Per-Procedure (RPP) model.
Dr. Miguel Silva-Ramos from Boavista treated the first Portuguese patients earlier this year. The center then decided to contract for a fixed RPP model. In July additional patients were treated on the Ablatherm-HIFU device using the integrated imaging system. The center’s doctors are very enthusiastic about best-in-class 3-D imaging system allowing real-time treatment with direct visualization. Dr. Adriano Pimenta, head of Urology, stated, “The decision to begin with HIFU treatments was logical since it is a minimally invasive treatment with very few and often light side effects with oncologic results similar to other therapies with curative intent.”
Dr. F.J. Murat from HEH Lyon and Pr. Luc Cormier CHU Nancy-Brabois in France were participating and supporting the team for their first treatments with Ablatherm-HIFU. The Portuguese media has already provided coverage of the center’s first treatments. (Links to selected media files are available at http://www.edap-tms.com .)
“Ablatherm-HIFU represents a new level of noninvasive care for our patients who are not candidates for surgery or desire a treatment with a minimum of disruption in their lifestyle,” said Dr. Silva-Ramos, of Boavista Hospital. “The Ablatherm is clearly the most advanced HIFU device for localized prostate cancer offering patients an effective, safe and attractive treatment choice for their consideration. The application software is very simple and intuitive with numerous safety features so it is almost impossible to do anything wrong. There is now an appreciable bulk of evidence in the literature showing good oncologic results. We believe HIFU will offer a new choice to patients who wish to avoid significant recovery periods and side effects yet offers a very high standard of success rivaling current more invasive therapies.”
Boavista was conceived as an urban hospital clinic and is predominantly dedicated to surgical specialties. With the acquisition in 1998 from the HPP - Group of Private Hospitals owning hospitals in major cities in Portugal, the hospital became a concentrated center of excellence for surgical specialties. The Private Hospital of the Boavista is integrated with the Private Hospital of the Clergymen allowing each hospital to focus on specialists and equipment to provide high levels of care while controlling costs.
“For now more than 10 years EDAP has built a solid body of clinical evidence to support growing interest in HIFU therapy among European patients seeking alternatives to more invasive therapies,” said Orlando Rolim, of Hemoportugal, EDAP’s distributor in Portugal. “With more than 10,000 treatments performed so far, the Ablatherm-HIFU has a strong and definitive body of published data demonstrating not only its ability to serve as an effective treatment with low side effects, but also the adaptability of its protocols to specific needs including radiation failure patients and preservation of the erectile nerves. With patients more interested in researching their treatment choices today, we believe it is important to offer the best standards of care to continue attracting patients to our centers providing this innovative treatment and offering them the therapeutic choices they are demanding. Clearly HIFU is ready to play a role as a new standard of care in noninvasive treatment. As part of our efforts to promote HIFU for prostate cancer in Portugal, HIFU therapy will be discussed in the next Symposium of the Portuguese Urological Association in October.”
The launch of service in Portugal continues the rollout of Ablatherm-HIFU in Europe where Ablatherm-HIFU is available at more than 100 centers in major countries including France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and others.
“We continue to launch new sites and new markets throughout Europe as more urologists find out about both the benefits of the Ablatherm-HIFU device and its large body of clinical evidence supporting its efficacy and its ability to preserve the patient’s quality of life through low side effects and rapid recovery,” said Hugues de Bantel, CEO of EDAP. “EDAP has committed to expand aggressively its marketing programs to recruit a greater number of urologists and sites offering Ablatherm-HIFU and to educate any European patient looking for a noninvasive therapy for localized prostate cancer. Urologists experienced with HIFU are indicating that the European market is ready to embrace Ablatherm-HIFU based on its well-documented efficacy, safety and attractiveness to the patient lifestyle. Many of our centers who have embraced HIFU are sending a significant portion of their patients to Ablatherm as the first choice for nonsurgical candidates.”
Continuing, de Bantel said, “In order to address the interest we are seeing in major European markets, we started earlier this year rolling out new marketing campaigns and adding to our resources to help launch new centers and connect patients directly with medical professionals offering Ablatherm-HIFU as a part of their treatment choices. The media coverage accompanying this launch is clear evidence of the interest in Ablatherm-HIFU as well as the efforts we are undertaking to further make patients and doctors aware of this treatment modality. We believe the opportunity has arrived for Ablatherm-HIFU to appropriately and strongly address the market through EDAP’s innovative Revenue Per Procedure model which removes almost all financial risk from the center as it begins offering Ablatherm-HIFU, yet still offers the medical professionals our recognized best-in-class training program and the complete support of EDAP and its urologist users who represent many of the thought leaders in Europe. These efforts will help to not only launch more sites in our key markets, but also develop patient awareness to ensure patients can consult with a urologist familiar with Ablatherm-HIFU in the process of determining the best course of care for their medical case.”
About EDAP TMS S.A.
EDAP TMS S.A. develops and markets Ablatherm, the most advanced and clinically proven choice for High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of localized prostate cancer. HIFU treatment is shown to be a minimally invasive and effective treatment option with a low occurrence of side effects. Ablatherm-HIFU is generally recommended for patients with localized prostate cancer (stages T1-T2) who are not candidates for surgery or who prefer an alternative option or patients who failed radiotherapy treatment. The company is also developing this technology for the treatment of certain other types of tumors. EDAP TMS S.A. also produces and commercializes medical equipment for treatment of urinary tract stones using Extra-corporeal Shockwave Lithotripsy (ESWL).
For more information on the Company, contact Halliburton Investor Relations at (972) 458-8000, the Corporate Investor Relations Dept at +33 (0)4 78 26 40 46 or see the Company’s Web sites at http://www.edap-tms.com and http://www.hifu-planet.com .
This press release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These include statements regarding the Company’s growth and expansion plans. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, those described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ablatherm-HIFU treatment is in clinical trials but not yet FDA approved or marketed in the United States.
CONTACT: EDAP TMS S.A. Hugues de Bantel - Philippe Chauveau Blandine Confort +33 4 78 26 40 46 Halliburton Investor Relations Matt Kreps - Geralyn DeBusk 972 458 8000
EDAP TMS S.A.
CONTACT: Hugues de Bantel, Philippe Chauveau, or Blandine Confort all ofEDAP TMS S.A., +33-4-78-26-40-46; or Matt Kreps or Geralyn DeBusk both ofHalliburton Investor Relations, +1-972-458-8000, for EDAP TMS S.A.
