BrachySciences Only Company To Offer All Three Isotopes For Low Dose Rate Prostate Brachytherapy

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 26 Feb 2009 - 6:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

BrachySciences, the leader in providing innovative medical devices for the treatment of early stage prostate cancer, has announced a distribution agreement with IsoRay Inc., manufacturer of Proxcelan™, the only Cesium-131 radioactive source available for brachytherapy. By adding the unique Cesium-131 source to its distribution portfolio of Advantage Iodine-125™ and the TheraSeed® Palladium-103 device, BrachySciences is now the only company capable of providing all three radioactive isotopes used in low dose rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy.

The agreement leaves BrachySciences uniquely positioned to service the requirements of any physician performing LDR prostate brachytherapy. "We're very excited about what the availability of all three isotopes means for physicians," said Jim Matons, President, BrachySciences. "We'll be able to effectively fulfill all of their LDR prostate brachytherapy needs. Not only will physicians have access to all three isotopes, but they will now be able to obtain them all in BrachySciences' most advanced devices, such as AnchorSeed™, EchoStrand™, and VariStrand™, for any of their treatment techniques."

Anthony G. Pasqualone, IsoRay Vice President of Sales and Business Development, added "We are extremely pleased to announce this agreement with BrachySciences. Proxcelan represents a major innovation in brachytherapy isotope offerings. As such, it only makes sense for us to extend the presence of Cesium-131 in brachytherapy by distributing Proxcelan through BrachySciences, which has a reputation for bringing innovative products to the industry. We are confident our agreement will offer a compelling option to physicians practicing brachytherapy."

In addition to physicians, administrators and purchasing departments stand to benefit from the agreement. With access to all three isotopes and a diverse brachytherapy product portfolio capable of satisfying any pre-planned or real-time implant technique, BrachySciences has the ability to function as a solitary vendor and complete service provider to hospitals and clinics with LDR implant programs.

About BrachySciences

BrachySciences, a division of Biocompatibles, Inc., is dedicated to improving and expanding the use of brachytherapy implants for the treatment of early stage prostate cancer. The company develops, markets, sells, and distributes radioactive seeds as well as unique delivery systems and ancillary equipment used in brachytherapy implants. BrachySciences is committed to optimizing the quality and efficiency of prostate brachytherapy implants by providing state of the art brachytherapy products, innovative technologies, and services to the physicians and institutions that treat patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. BrachySciences is based in Oxford, Connecticut. More information about BrachySciences is available at http://www.brachysciences.com

About IsoRay

IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary, IsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of the Cesium-131 brachytherapy seed, used to treat prostate and other cancers. The Cesium-131 seed offers a significantly shorter half-life than the two other isotopes commonly used for brachytherapy, which results in a substantially faster delivery of therapeutic radiation, lower probability of cancer cell survival, and reduction of the longevity of common brachytherapy side effects(a)(b). IsoRay is based in Richland, Washington. More information is available about IsoRay at http://www.isoray.com.

(a) Armpilia CI, Dale RG, Coles IP, et al. The Determination of Radiobiologically Optimized Half-lives for Radionuclides Used in Permanent Brachytherapy Implants. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2003; 55 (2): 378-385.

(b) Prestidge B.R., Bice W.S., Jurkovic I.,et al. Cesium-131 Permanent Prostate Brachytherapy: An Initial Report. Int. J. Radiation Oncology Biol. Phys. 2005; 63 (1): 5336-5337.

BrachySciences
IsoRay

• Additional
• References
• Citations