Zap Surgical Systems Inc. reported closing a $78 million series E funding round led by Qingdao Baheal Medical Inc., with participation from other strategic investors. The new funds will be used to commercialize the company’s Zap-X gyroscopic radiosurgery platform for the non-invasive treatment of brain tumors.
A study presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology on Oct. 1 offers promise for the treatment of high-grade gliomas using Elekta AB’s Unity MR-Linac system.
The U.K. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released a preliminary health technology assessment for three modules of the Proknow series of software systems by Stockholm-based Elekta AB, which may improve the delivery of radiotherapy services across the U.K. However, NICE indicated it wants to see more evidence regarding the impact of these software modules on radiotherapy treatment plans.
The acquisition of Icad Inc.’s brachytherapy business by Elekta AB takes the company a step closer to achieving its goal of providing hope to the millions of people dealing with cancer, John Lapré, president of Elekta’s Brachy and Neuro Solutions unit, told BioWorld. Elekta paid approximately $5.5 million for Icad’s subsidiary Xoft. In addition, most of Xoft’s staff and its main facility in San José, Calif., was transferred to the company.
Patent challenges for radiotherapy equipment might not make the splash that in vitro diagnostic patents have, but Elekta AB and Zap Surgical Inc., have been locked in a dispute over an Elekta patent for the past four years.
Elekta AB received U.S. FDA clearance for what it called a “groundbreaking upgrade” of its MR-Linac platform which can continuously calculate the movement of a tumor anywhere in the body. The company said the Elekta Unity’s comprehensive motion management platform provides clinicians with enhanced, adaptive radiation therapy workflow to track moving organs such as the prostate, liver and pancreas.
It’s not always obvious whether a claim found in a patent is obvious to a “person having ordinary skill” while the patent is still in prosecution, but that lack of clarity came back to bite Best Medical International Inc., of Springfield, Va. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that a patent for conformal radiotherapy held by Best included three claims that would have been obvious to this mythical person of ordinary skill, handing a win to Stockholm-based Elekta AB, maker of the Gamma Knife radiotherapy system.
Elekta AB signed a commercial agreement with GE Healthcare Co. Ltd. to expand hospital access to radiotherapy. Marlborough, Mass.-based GE Healthcare said it will combine its precision imaging solutions with Elekta’s radiation therapy portfolio to provide hospitals worldwide with a more comprehensive oncology offering.
The U.K. National Institute of Health and Care Excellence has endorsed the use of stereotactic radiosurgery as a treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) after hearing from a patient group, promising more clinical bandwidth for these systems.
As part of newly announced collaborations with Cleveland-based Viewray Inc., Elekta AB assumed a 9.9% stake in the company, and Medtronic plc also made a minority investment. The company's largest shareholder, Fosun International Ltd., also led the round. "In total, the company raised approximately $139 million, net of fees," Viewray President and CEO Scott Drake told BioWorld MedTech.
