IBA and Philips join forces to advance diagnosis and treatment of cancer

Ion Beam Applications (IBA), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy and radiopharmacy solutions, and Royal Philips have announced the signing of a global collaboration to provide advanced diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for the treatment of cancer.

The collaboration covers sales, marketing, research and development of imaging and therapy solutions in oncology. By merging their respective expertise in therapy and image guidance systems, IBA and Philips will innovate with an integrated vision for more-efficient, personalised cancer care. Leveraging high-quality imaging and proton therapy offers the potential to increase confidence in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, reduce short and long-term side effects and potentially enhance the quality of life of the patient before, during and after treatment, while reducing the cost of treatment for the healthcare system.

This collaboration is an important step toward adaptive treatment of cancer and a personalised treatment approach to enable the best-possible result for cancer patients across the globe

The collaboration will also enable both organisations to mutually leverage technologies and solutions. IBA will benefit from Philips’ diagnostic imaging products offered to oncology care centres, while Philips will leverage IBA proton therapy solutions within its offering for customers in select markets around the world. The commercial collaboration also includes an integrated offering for Molecular Imaging Centres, combining IBA’s expertise in PET radioisotope production centers with Philips’ imaging and diagnostics expertise.

Olivier Legrain, chief executive of IBA, said: “This is an exciting and important step for IBA. A closer collaboration with a company of Philips’ caliber and global reach, where we are able to combine both companies’ expertise and excellence in oncology care, will accelerate innovation and provide more-efficient and effective solutions in molecular imaging and treatment solutions. This collaboration is an important step toward adaptive treatment of cancer and a personalised treatment approach to enable the best-possible result for cancer patients across the globe."

Gene Saragnese, executive vice president and chief executive of imaging systems at Philips, added: "Proton therapy is one of the most-exciting technological advancements in the oncology field. We look forward to collaborating with IBA to enhance access to best-in-class technology for both Proton Centres and Molecular Imaging Centres, as well as to accelerate the development of our informed therapy guidance vision in ways that can change the future of care, and improve the quality of life for patients."