Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, September 16, 2019 - IBA (Ion Beam Applications SA), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer, held its third Victoria Consortium Meeting focusing on FLASH(1) irradiation at ASTRO.

In addition, during IBA’s annual symposium on Proton Therapy that took place on Sunday, September 15, Dr Amit Maity, Executive Vice-Chair Radiation Oncology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, also shared the latest insight on Proton FLASH Radiation Therapy for Gastrointestinal (GI) Malignancies.

Building on the largest network of clinical partners in proton therapy, IBA has been leading innovation for over 30 years. Today, IBA is uniquely positioned to drive the development of FLASH irradiation, the next major innovation expected in radiation therapy. FLASH therapy has the potential to dramatically change the landscape of radiotherapy and patient cancer care, making it more effective and more accessible than conventional radiotherapy. FLASH irradiation is a fast and powerful treatment that delivers a high dose of radiation at an ultra-high dose rate. This novel technique could potentially shorten treatment time from 6-8 weeks to less than a week and has the potential to reduce side effects for patients.

IBA is collaborating with several leading proton therapy centers in their pioneering research work to better understand the mechanisms of FLASH irradiation. This early development work enables IBA today to deliver FLASH irradiation on both its current single and multi-room proton therapy platforms in a clinical environment in research mode as demonstrated in March 2019 at the University Medical Center of Groningen, The Netherlands, and in June 2019 at the Rutherford Cancer Center Thames Valley in Reading, England.

Dr Alexander Lin, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Chief of the Head and Neck Oncology Service at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, commented: “FLASH is a very exciting opportunity and we believe that proton therapy can be a very suitable modality to achieve the desired outcomes. We are at a stage where more research is needed to better understand the mechanisms of FLASH irradiation, and we are very excited about our current research program at Penn Medicine. Coordinating our efforts with other centers is key, and IBA’s Victoria meeting offered a great forum to share our insights.”

Charles Kumps, Chief Innovation & Development Officer at IBA, commented: “FLASH is a key research area that may dramatically improve the clinical relevance of Proton Therapy for patients around the world. As the industry leader, IBA has always collaborated with leading academic and industrial partners to bring innovation that continuously improves treatment outcomes to the forefront: The Universal Nozzle, Cone Beam CT and Proteus®ONE are amongst the developments that these partnerships have made possible.

Building upon this innovation process, IBA is now partnering with leading research institutions on FLASH Proton Therapy. This input is critical to further define the clinical impact of FLASH and to expand the performance and technical specifications of IBA’s proton therapy systems. As a result of these collaborations, we continue to lead the way in FLASH research.”


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, considered to be 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 solutions. 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 1,400 people worldwide, IBA has installed systems across the world.

IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange NYSE EURONEXT (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).