Mevion Medical Systems Makes History As The First Manufacturer To Open Back-To-Back Proton Therapy Centers

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Treats its First Patients with the MEVION S250

LITTLETON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The MEVION S250 proton therapy system at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is now treating patients, less than four weeks after the first patient was treated on the MEVION S250 at Ackerman Cancer Center. Never before has a proton manufacturer simultaneously brought up two distinct facilities – one the first-ever physician-owned proton center – decisively demonstrating both the therapeutic and economic viability of MEVION S250.

“This is an important milestone in cancer therapy for patients in this region. We can now treat patients in less time with fewer side effects with a very targeted form of radiation therapy.”

“Opening back-to-back proton therapy facilities in less than a month is a testament to the significant value the MEVION S250 provides to cancer centers: high-quality, leading-edge treatment in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost of other systems on the market,” said Joseph K. Jachinowski, president and CEO of Mevion Medical Systems. “This historic achievement also reflects the expertise of the Mevion teams that build, install and support our revolutionary proton therapy solution.”

The first two patients treated at RWJUH included a young man with a spinal myxopapillary ependymoma, a cancer that affects the spinal canal. His treatment began on June 5. A second patient with a recurrent brain tumor began treatment on May 27; this patient had received full doses of radiation in the past, and retreating him with other technologies would have proved difficult. RWJUH, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

“As a nationally distinguished academic medical center ranked as one of America’s Best Hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report, we constantly pursue innovation and new technology to give patients in our state and region the most advanced treatment options for complex conditions,” said Stephen K. Jones, FACHE, president and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System. “Proton therapy is an excellent addition to the breadth of cancer treatment destination therapies that are available through our hospital in partnership with the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and private physicians in the community.”

Proton therapy provides targeted treatment to cancer cells and causes less damage to surrounding healthy tissues than photon radiation, making it an ideal option for pediatric and adult patients with tumors in sensitive locations, such as near the heart, brain and spine.

Traditionally, proton therapy systems have required the development of new football-field-sized facilities that have ended up costing hundreds of millions of dollars to build and operate. Because only a limited number of cancer centers have this kind of capital or space, there has been a lack of patient access to this important treatment modality. By thoroughly breaking with tradition, the MEVION S250 effectively eliminates the limitations of traditional proton therapy. As the world’s smallest single-room proton therapy system, the MEVION S250 can be readily integrated into any size cancer facility – existing or new. The result is a proton therapy solution that is 75 percent smaller and uses as much as 90 percent less energy resulting in significantly lower capital and operating costs.

“The MEVION S250 provides RWJUH with a compact, high-quality delivery system to include in our suite of patient treatment options,” said Bruce Haffty, M.D., chief of radiation oncology at RWJUH and professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University. “This is an important milestone in cancer therapy for patients in this region. We can now treat patients in less time with fewer side effects with a very targeted form of radiation therapy.”

RWJUH is fully accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.

“We always strive for excellence in cancer treatment,” said Atif Khan, M.D., a radiation oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and associate professor of radiation oncology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “I am excited to see the benefits that the MEVION S250 brings to the patients at our proton center.”

Fast Ramp Up for Mevion’s System in Jacksonville

As anticipated, the MEVION S250 at Ackerman Cancer Center, a physician-owned facility in Jacksonville, Florida, is ramping up rapidly. It began treating patients on April 30 and is already treating 24 patients per day.

Mevion Preparing to Deliver Accelerator to Cleveland

MEVION S250 systems are currently being installed at four additional sites in the United States, including University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland, where the superconducting synchrocyclotron accelerator is scheduled to be delivered at the end of June. The accelerator is what creates the proton beam and, like the rest of the MEVION S250 system, it is highly advanced, compact, patented technology. Other installation sites are: Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City; University of Florida Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health; and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C.

About Mevion Medical Systems

Mevion Medical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of proton therapy systems for use in radiation treatment for cancer patients. Mevion’s flagship product, the MEVION S250 proton therapy platform, is the only modular, single room proton therapy system currently on the market. The MEVION S250 integrates with standard radiation therapy workflow and provides a proton therapy treatment environment at a fraction of the cost, footprint and operational complexity of conventional systems.

Mevion is privately held and based in Littleton, Massachusetts, with international offices in the United Kingdom and Japan. For more information, please visit www.mevion.com.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is a 965-bed hospital with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville, offering Central New Jersey residents expanded access to the highest quality medical services and a wider array of innovative therapies available at only a small number of elite academic medical centers nationwide.

RWJUH New Brunswick is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ... Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, and women’s and children’s care.