15th June 2016: Proton Partners International will deliver a cancer network for the UK to improve treatment, care, survival and research, said its Chief Executive Officer Mike Moran.
Speaking at the International Festival for Business (IFB) 2016 in Liverpool, Mr Moran discussed Proton Partners’ progress in bringing three proton beam therapy centres to the UK and the importance of making the treatment more available for patients across the country.
There are currently no operational high-energy proton beam therapy facilities in the UK, however Proton Partners are building three new centres in Newport, Wales, Northumberland and London. Each centre will be able to treat 500 patients annually.
Mike said: “The demand for proton beam therapy is on the rise and at least 10% of patients who receive traditional radiotherapy would actually be treated more effectively with protons.
“Our centres will provide an all-encompassing cancer service for patients, offering proton beam therapy, as well as chemotherapy, traditional radiotherapy and imaging.
“We’re confident that our three centres will deliver world-class treatment, but the key for us is to network all of our centres together.
“Building on the UK’s reputation for clinical excellence, our aim is to create an eco-system, drawing on the data we gather from each centre, to deliver greater outcomes for patients and advance proton beam therapy technology. We think it’s important that this should be done from a patient’s perspective, rather than a manufacturers perspective.”
Also speaking at the event was John Pettingell, Head of Physics at Proton Partners International.
John said: “The new single-room proton beam therapy solutions, which are the kind that we will be installing at our centres, are the biggest thing to happen in radiation therapy this decade as they have made this cutting edge technology far more accessible. The first patient treated in a single room proton beam therapy facility was in 2014, previously centres had to be much larger and were prohibitively expensive.
“The very latest technology in radiation therapy means that the likelihood of damaging or long-term side effects for patients is hugely decreased, and by bringing proton beam therapy to the UK, Proton Partners will open the door to this specialist level of cancer treatment for thousands of patients.”
Mike added: “The spirt of our centres is to beat cancer. Proton beam therapy is not a panacea but it does make a real difference for patients and, by networking our centres together to drive an improvement in cancer treatment, we will help to revolutionise the level of care that is currently available.”
Proton Partners International spoke at the IFB 2016 as part of Physics Innovate which brings together academics from The University of Liverpool, large corporations, public organisations and SMEs, to show how Physics impacts on the energy, security, environment and healthcare sectors.
