Varian Medical Systems To Equip New Proton Treatment Center at the National Taiwan University in Taipei

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) today announced that it has signed an agreement with YongLin Healthcare Foundation by which Varian will provide its ProBeam® proton therapy system for deployment at the National Taiwan University in Taipei.  The YongLin Healthcare Foundation will donate the system to the University.

Under the purchase agreement, Varian will provide the technology to equip three treatment rooms, two with gantries that rotate around the patient and one as a fixed-beam room.

In addition to the ProBeam system, Varian will provide its ARIA® information management and Eclipse™ treatment planning software products.  The expected total value of the agreement is estimated to be about $100M, including long-term operations and maintenance services.  Varian expects to book the equipment portion of this order during fiscal year 2014.  Equipment installation is expected to take place in mid-2017, with patient treatments expected to begin in the second half of 2018.

Proton therapy makes it possible to treat certain types of cancer more precisely and with potentially fewer side effects than is possible with conventional radiation therapy. With proton therapy, the risk of damage to healthy tissues is reduced. The method can be applied for many of the most common types of cancer and offers advantages when treating tumors close to radiosensitive tissues. In pediatric patients the risk of developing a new, radiation-induced cancer later in life can be reduced.

Varian's ProBeam system enables intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) by modulating dose levels on a spot-by-spot basis throughout the treatment area. Scanning beam technology makes it possible to combine irradiations from multiple angles in an optimal manner to improve control of dose distributions.

Varian's ProBeam technology has been installed at the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, California.  Varian proton therapy technology is also in place at the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Munich, Germany and the Paul Scherer Institute in Switzerland.  Varian has contracts to install ProBeam systems at six additional centers, at the University of Maryland in Baltimore; Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio; University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, KFMC-King Fahd Medical City in Saudi Arabia, and the PTC St. Petersburg in Russia. 

Note: high resolution images of the ProBeam system are available online here.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes, digital detectors, and image processing software and workstations for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies high-energy X-ray devices for cargo screening and non-destructive testing. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 6,500 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and approximately 70 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com or follow us on Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information, this news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements concerning industry outlook, including growth drivers; the company's future business, including orders, revenues, backlog, or earnings growth; market acceptance of or transition to new products or technology for proton therapy, and any statements using the terms  "can," "will," "scheduled," "expected," "goal," "mission," "possible," or similar statements are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include the effect of economic conditions; currency exchange rates and tax rates; demand for the company's products; the company's ability to develop, commercialize, and deploy new products; the company's ability to meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory requirements for product clearances or to comply with FDA and other regulatory regulations or procedures; changes in the regulatory environment, including with respect to FDA requirements; challenges associated with the successful commercialization of the company's particle therapy business; the company's reliance on sole or limited-source suppliers; the company's ability to maintain or increase margins; and the other risks listed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which by this reference are incorporated herein. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Spencer Sias (650) 424-5782
[email protected]

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems