Philadelphia, PA, October 17, 2015 – IBA’s (Ion Beam Applications S.A., EURONEXT) longtime customer and research partner Penn Medicine has upgraded the equipment of its Roberts Proton Therapy Center with the latest innovations in proton therapy treatment. This upgrade to the newest technologies will allow Penn Medicine’s staff to continue to offer top-level proton radiation therapy services to an increasing number of patients and to further advance the clinical application of proton therapy.

Since Penn Medicine treated its first proton patient in March 2010, its proton therapy team has become a strong IBA partner and a recognized leader in the field. Research collaborations with IBA are extensive, with Penn Medicine contributing to the research on Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) protocols and Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), among others. Penn Medicine’s proton therapy facility and experts also play a key role in IBA’s training program, sharing knowledge and experience to contribute to the education of the entire proton therapy community.

Several recent acquisitions give Penn Medicine access to the latest upgrades and support the Roberts Proton Therapy Center in maintaining its leading position in the advancement of proton therapy:

• Having taken part in the development and optimization of IBA’s CBCT, Penn Medicine has opted to purchase this image guidance tool, which ensures increased accuracy in patient positioning and brings the center one step closer to adaptive proton therapy treatment.
• As a pioneer in PBS, Penn Medicine has contributed to the advancement of this treatment modality and demonstrated its clinical benefit. To leverage this clinical benefit, Penn Medicine will replace one of its universal nozzles to a dedicated PBS nozzle. This brings Penn Medicine to a total of four PBS treatment rooms, with one Double Scattering treatment room remaining. It will allow Penn clinicians to offer the most accurate delivery of proton therapy currently available to a larger number of patients, while maintaining the advantage Double Scattering provides when treating moving targets. This adapted configuration provides Penn Medicine with the option to cover a very broad range of indications, with fixed as well as moving targets.
• For research purposes, Penn Medicine will also deploy the Universal Monitoring Interface (UMI) and Adapt Analytics software. These software applications are used to monitor how much time is spent on and by the patient at different treatment stages. The aim of this research is to improve the workflow efficiency in order to optimize throughput. Ultimately, it will allow more patients, at Penn Medicine and elsewhere, to benefit from proton therapy treatment. With several other upgrades to the dedicated research room, Penn’s team is fully equipped to further advance the application of proton therapy.

With the purchase of this state-of-the-art technology, Penn Medicine represents a showcase example of IBA’s upgradability. IBA’s installed base and general customer satisfaction creates a very strong pipeline for upgrades: the current Penn Medicine upgrade exceeds $3 million USD, and IBA still has a general pipeline left of $7 million USD.

James Metz, M.D., Chair of Penn Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, commented: “The clinical application of proton therapy is a medical field in full evolution. At Penn Medicine, we believe in its potential and are fully committed to helping its realization, leveraging top-notch technology to make sure that as many eligible patients as possible can benefit from this radiation therapy modality, now and in the future.”

Frédéric Genin, IBA’s Executive Vice President Product Management, said: Delivering our PT Continuum which ensures that all of our growing installed base customers can upgrade to the latest technological advancements in PT is a primary focus of IBA’s Product Development teams. With customer satisfaction as our first priority, we strive to make next-generation technologies available to them as quickly as possible.”

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About Proton Therapy
Proton therapy is considered the most advanced and targeted cancer radiotherapy treatment due to its superior dose distribution and fewer side effects. Protons deposit the majority of their effective energy within a precisely controlled range, directly within the tumor, sparing healthy surrounding tissue. Higher doses can be delivered to the tumor without increasing the risk of side effects and long term complications, thereby improving patient outcomes and quality of life. Today, more than half of all proton therapy clinical facilities worldwide are equipped with IBA systems. This includes 18 proton therapy centers currently in operation and 16 additional centers under development.

While proton therapy today represents less than 1% of radiotherapy treatments, studies estimate that more than 17% of patients treated by radiotherapy would benefit from being treated by this technique.

About IBA
IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) is a global medical technology company focused on bringing integrated and innovative solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The company is the worldwide technology leader in the field of proton therapy, the most advanced form of radiation therapy available today. IBA’s proton therapy solutions are flexible and adaptable, allowing customers to choose from universal full-scale proton therapy centers as well as compact, single room systems. In addition, IBA also has a radiation dosimetry business and develops particle accelerators for the medical world and industry.

Headquartered in Belgium and employing about 1100 people worldwide, IBA has installed systems across the world, from Europe and the US to emerging markets. IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT. (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB.) More information can be found at: www.ibaworldwide.com

About Penn Medicine
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.9 billion USD enterprise.

For further information please contact:

IBA
Olivier de Sadeleer
Marketing Manager PT
+32 10 475 890
Investorrelations@iba-group.com

Thomas Ralet
Vice-President Corporate Communication
+32 10 475 890
communication@iba-group.com

For media and investor enquiries:
Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Bielecka, Mary-Jane Elliott, Matthew Neal
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