July 13, 2017 – The UK is in the vanguard of providing the most advanced high energy proton beam therapy system in the world, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, Mike Moran, said today.

The single room Proteus®ONE proton beam therapy system, which is being installed and maintained by IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.), offers the most advanced proton therapy technology on the market. The system will be installed at each of The Rutherford Cancer Centres being built across the country by Proton Partners International.

The installation of the proton therapy system continues after the first high energy proton beam on UK soil was fired last week two months ahead of schedule at The Rutherford Cancer Centre, South Wales.

The centre is currently open to receive patient referrals for conventional treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy and it is expected that patients will be treated with high energy proton beam therapy in early 2018.

Speaking at The Rutherford Cancer Centre, South Wales, Olivier Legrain, chief executive officer of IBA, said: “The compact design of the single room Proteus®ONE system makes proton therapy more affordable. It reduces the upfront investment as well as the operating cost by reducing energy consumption, which in turn minimises the impact on the environment. We are committed to supporting Proton Partners International as they bring proton beam therapy closer to home for many more patients across the UK.”

Mike Moran, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, said: “We’re delighted that the technical ‘heart’ of our centres has started to beat. Although the UK has been a bit late in adopting proton beam therapy, we are going to be equipped with the most advanced treatment system available.

“By working with IBA we have acquired the very best technology in cancer treatment for each of our centres and from being one step behind in the UK, we now have a chance to be one step ahead

“Research is central to our company and therefore once treatment gets underway, we will collate and analyse all the of the data from our centres to ensure we’re on the forefront of advancing the research effort in proton beam therapy.”

Proton Partners International is building a series of oncology centres across the UK named The Rutherford Cancer Centres which will offer an all-encompassing cancer service, including high energy proton beam therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, imaging and wellbeing services.

The Rutherford Cancer Centres will provide conventional and proton beam therapy treatment to self-paying patients and patients referred by the NHS.

Each centre will install the same proton beam therapy system at its other centres which are under development in Northumberland, Reading and Liverpool. Locations for a clinic in central London are also being considered.