A Medical Device Daily

Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, California) reported the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOA) with Indonesia's first private cancer hospital, Mochtar Riady Comprehensive Cancer Center (MRCCC; Jakarta, Indonesia), under which cancer patients in that country will gain access to advanced radiotherapy treatments.

Siloam Hospitals Group, operator of MRCCC, and Varian have agreed to pursue a collaborative relationship to explore opportunities for developing innovative solutions for delivering the latest cancer treatments in Indonesia.

The Building of Hope, which incorporates the MRCCC, is a new 29-story, 210-bed specialist hospital in central Jakarta. It is expected to be a major center of excellence for cancer in the Southeast Asia region when it becomes operational in December 2009.

Dr. Mochtar Riady said, "It is wonderful for the Mochtar Riady Comprehensive Cancer Center to partner with Varian Medical Systems, which is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy and brachytherapy. We are very enthusiastic about working with Varian to bring such leading technologies and therapies to Indonesia in our fight against cancer."

The MRCCC, which plans to acquire two Varian Clinac iX linear accelerators equipped with the country's first On-Board Imager devices that enable targeted image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), will be the most fully equipped cancer center in Indonesia when it opens.

IGRT is a precise form of treatment that utilizes multiple imaging and motion management techniques to target tumors precisely and avoid damaging surrounding healthy tissue. Riady said, "The vision for the MRCCC is to provide an international standard private cancer and specialist hospital in Central Jakarta, using state-of-the-art equipment that incorporates the latest generation of smart IT systems."

"This splendid new facility will be a landmark center and will provide Indonesia cancer patients with much-needed access to the latest and most effective forms of radiotherapy treatment," said Tim Guertin, president/CEO of Varian Medical Systems. "Varian is delighted to be working with Siloam Hospitals Group to make this very significant project a reality."

Nearly 800,000 people in Indonesia are afflicted with cancer each year, but advanced cancer facilities are rare in the country.

Siloam Hospitals Group is a division of PT Lippo Karawaci, Indonesia's largest broad-based property company. Siloam is that country's leading private hospital group, currently operating four international-standard hospitals and one specialist clinic across Jakarta and Surabaya.

Siloam Hospitals is investing $500 million over the next five to 10 years to build 10 new hospitals in Indonesia.

Varian develops devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, proton therapy, and brachytherapy. It supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. It is a major supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific and industrial applications

Varian operates 60 sales and support offices around the world.

Acquisition completed by China Sky One

China Sky One Medical (Harbin, China) said it has completed the acquisition of Peng Lai Jin Chuang Co. (Jin Chuang) that was announced in mid-June.

Under the terms of the deal, which closed on Sept. 5, China Sky One Medical's wholly-owned subsidiary, Harbin Tian Di Ren Medical Science and Technology Co., acquired 100% of Jin Chuang's assets for a cash payment of about $7.1 million, consisting of $2.5 million in cash and $4.6 million of China Sky One Medical's common shares.

Jin Chuang is a newly established company that has obtained Good Manufacturing Practice Certification (GMP) approval issued by China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). Its assets include franchise, production and operating rights to a portfolio of 20 medications approved by the SFDA for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, colds and depression.

"This acquisition complements our business, and we expect to realize greater synergies as we incorporate Jin Chuang's assets and broaden our manufacturing capabilities and product line even further," said Yan-qing Liu, chairman/CEO/president of China Sky One Medical. "Even though Jin Chuang is a newly established company not begun to manufacture, we expect it will begin to contribute to our profitability at the end of 2008."

China Sky One Medical is a Nevada-registered company engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical, medicinal and diagnostic products. Through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Harbin Tian Di Ren Medical Science and Technology Co., Harbin First Bio-Engineering Co. and Heilongjiang Tianlong Pharmaceutical, the company primarily manufactures and distributes over-the- counter pharmaceutical products.