LONDON – Ion Beam Applications SA (IBA) has taken a giant step into China, sealing a €100 million-plus (US$118.2 million) licensing deal with a local company to manufacture, install and maintain its proton beam cancer therapy systems.
In what one analyst labeled as a “summer surprise,” Varian Medical Systems Inc. and Siemens Healthineers AG said they plan to combine in an all-cash transaction valued at $16.4 billion. Varian’s board has backed the agreement, which will see Siemens Healthineers pick up all outstanding shares for $177.50 per share in cash, representing a premium of about 42% to the 30-day volume weighted average closing price of Varian's common stock as of July 31. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2021.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems Inc. has joined the ranks of other companies in withdrawing its guidance even as at least one analyst saw positive news for the second quarter. For her part, BTIG’s Marie Thibault noted that the company missed on Americas oncology gross order metric, while falling short on consensus non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) by five cents.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems Inc. is no stranger to machine learning applications. It rolled out its first such software to guide photon-based radiotherapy treatment planning more than five years ago. Now, it’s expanding a similar approach for machine learning-driven patient matching and treatment guidance in proton treatment planning.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Varian Medical Systems Inc. has won the U.S. FDA’s nod for its Ethos therapy, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven holistic solution that is aiming to transform cancer care. This solution is designed to deliver an entire adaptive treatment in a typical 15-minute slot and is intended to put the patient at the center of care, noted Chris Toth, president of Varian Oncology Systems.
The Medicare radiation oncology alternative payment model is yet another attempt to control Medicare spending growth, but provider groups and device makers oppose mandatory program participation. Varian Medical offered a blistering critique of the participation mandate, stating that the participation mandate suggests that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is less interested in a valid test of the program than it is in generating immediate savings.
