*India has three million cancer patients undergoing treatment and an estimated US $1.2 billion expenditure for cancer treatment
*HealthCare Global Enterprises forms strategic oncology partnership with GE Healthcare
*GE's breakthrough Discovery™ STe PET/CT system to aid the early detection and treatment of cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders
BANGALORE, JUNE 14, 2007 --- HealthCare Global Enterprises and GE Healthcare announced today a strategic oncology partnership to address the growing oncology needs in India. Healthcare Global Enterprises have set up an advanced GMP and FDA compliant Molecular Imaging Centre (MIC) in Bangalore. The facility is the first of its kind in India and has commenced operations this week. GE Healthcare's advanced medical technologies have been chosen to provide diagnostic services in the areas of oncology, cardiology and neurology. The center is equipped with state-of-the-art molecular imaging systems including a GE Discovery™ STe, GE PETTrace medical cyclotron & Tacerlab MX automated Chemistry Lab and Infinia dual head nuclear gamma camera system.
The reason GE was selected for the project was due to the technological expertise and the company's extensive portfolio: "With a comprehensive facility such as the HCG, a diverse range of solutions are required. GE demonstrated an attractive proposition because as a key healthcare infrastructure provider, they presented a holistic approach to cater for multiple aspects of HCGs projects seamlessly," said Dr. Ajai Kumar, Chairman, HealthCare Global Enterprises.
Molecular imaging is a combination of fields such as biology, medicine, pharmaceutics, physics, chemistry and engineering that allows physicians to detect, treat and monitor disease at the body's cellular levels. Although this technology may sound rather futuristic, molecular imaging and scanning capabilities make multi-medical therapy possible. The most exciting result is the ability to diagnose health problems, such as coronary artery disease, cancer/tumors or neurological diseases, in patients with no clear symptoms. Physicians can treat different patients according to specific situations, potentially slow the progression of the disease, and evaluate the effects of treatment.
"Molecular imaging has huge potential to enable detection of diseases at a much earlier stage and change the way we manage the patient today. Molecular imaging techniques in combination with specific biomarkers are helping physicians to choose suitable medications for a particular patient, predict and monitor the effects of those medications and personalize patients' treatments - hence contributing to a more efficient and higher quality treatment of common maladies like cancer, cardiovascular diseases or neurological disorders," said V Raja, President and CEO, GE Healthcare. "Our vision is to identify and treat the molecular causes of diseases long before the patient ever experiences any symptoms and GE is at the forefront of developing these early health solutions that will transform the future of healthcare."
"We are excited to begin this cooperation with GE Healthcare, the leading supplier of healthcare solutions. Together, we will provide the healthcare sector in the region with sophisticated and unparalleled molecular imaging and diagnostic services, leveraging on the world-class facilities offered by our centre," said Dr. Ajai Kumar.
GE's Discovery STe installed at the Healthcare Global Enterprises is the latest of its kind and combines 16-slice computed tomography (CT- which provides highly detailed pictures of the patient's anatomy), with positron emission tomography (PET-provides metabolic information) in a single system. It helps doctors determine whether a suspicious growth is cancerous or benign in a single exam. Previously, doctors had to put patients through two separate scans to get similar information -- with little success.
This Discovery™ STe system is capable of 2D and 3D imaging with a larger bore for all patient studies or sizes and provides physicians with more sensitivity, speed, resolution, and diagnostic confidence when treating cancer patients.
Discovery STe PET/CT will help in providing a better understanding of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and brain dysfunction, allowing a more personalized course of treatment with the ability to monitor response to therapy. Medical research published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates integrated PET/CT exams provide extra information beyond that obtained with visually correlated PET and CT in 41% of cases because of its proven pinpoint accuracy in locating disease.
"Using the combined images, our doctors can answer critical questions," said Dr K G Kallur, Director, PET-Sensation Center, HCG Group, such as "Where is the tumor? Is it spreading? How large is it? Is it malignant or not? What is the best way to treat it? Is the treatment working? A definitive diagnosis and staging can help the patient avoid painful unnecessary painful procedures."
The information made available through GE Discovery STe PET/CT will help physicians quickly and accurately diagnose cardiac patients, helping to potentially eliminate invasive procedures. Discovery STe provides physicians with a comprehensive clinical tool kit enabling them to see not only the possible cause of disease, but also the extent of disease leading to the most appropriate treatment path for the patient.
"We are entering a new era in non-invasive cardiology where molecular imaging will play a major role in diagnosing and managing a coronary artery disease. Combining the functional capabilities of PET with the speed and resolution of a multislice CT will help to transform both cardiac imaging and the diagnosis of heart disease," said Dr. Ajai Kumar.
Alzheimer's Disease is one of the leading causes of death in western world and India is fast catching up with a current estimate of 3 million patients and projected 6 million by 2030. Positron emission tomography (PET) is the most sensitive imaging method to confirm regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes typical for Alzheimer's disease. PET/CT can differentiate Alzheimer's from other forms of dementia disorders, based on regional and selective vulnerability of cerebral cortex.
Healthcare Global will be the first in the region to feature a Cyclotron - GE PETTrace and CGMP laboratory that produces high yields of exciting radioisotope biomarkers. These are essential for accurate PET diagnosis. In addition to HCG group of institutions, the cyclotron also enables other PET diagnostic facilities in India to have access to these biomarkers.
GE Healthcare's PET Trace Cyclotron installed at HCG is a high capacity system enabling the distribution of imaging agent FDG to hospitals that have PET and PET/CT systems in India. The installation of one cyclotron enables setting up larger number of cancer detection and treatment centers. New investors can take advantage of this facility to set up PET/CT centers, as they do not need to invest in a cyclotron again.
"Our Cyclotron can cater FDG to over 10 centers at a time in one production. We would be pleased to provide FDG at nominal rates for those who want to set up new PET/CT centres. We would encourage hospitals to set up new PET/CT centres to cater to their patients in their location, as the barrier of major investment in cyclotron is no longer there now," said Dr. K G Kallur.
Running an efficient FDG manufacturing center is critical to delivering the right dose at the right time to Indian hospitals and imaging centers. Proximity pays -- locating the Cyclotron in Bangalore makes it easy to supply FDG to any centre in India. It helps them plan their patient treatment reliable. The facility is approved by AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board).
"The HealthCare Global has always endeavored to deliver quality care at the highest standards in service, education, and research in cancer. Reaching this milestone with the commissioning of the first GMP molecular imaging centre in India is in keeping with the traditions of excellence in matching global standards," said Dr. Ajai Kumar. "It is only natural that we will have many facilities in India to diagnose and treat cancer as possible," he added.
GE Healthcare's has been associated with HCG for over a decade. HCG is looking forward to setting up similar centres across the country through this strategic partnership with GE Healthcare.
Mr. V. Raja, President, GE Healthcare South Asia, said: "We are extremely pleased to partner with Healthcare Global, which is one of India's most respected institutions. GE Healthcare and HCG share a common dream. We are both driven by a desire to change the future of healthcare by helping patients experience Early Health, which focuses on early diagnosis rather than late disease. Together, we will be exploring possibility of creating such centers of excellence across India.
"GE Healthcare has reached significant milestones for the delivery of cyclotrons and automated chemistry systems for use with PET imaging systems. Since the first commercial introduction of the PET Cyclotron in the 1980s, GE has delivered more than 200 cyclotron systems, 1,000 automated chemistry systems for PET tracer production and over 1000 Discovery PET CT Systems. GE Healthcare has installed India's first PET, PET/CT and Cyclotron systems," said N. R. Balamurugan, Business Manager, Molecular Imaging at GE Healthcare.
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new "early health" model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.
HCG has been the pioneer in cancer care is the second private player to Install Cyclotron/PETCT. They are currently running 9 dedicated cancer centers and are rapidly expanding to 14 centers across India with centres of excellence in Delhi and Bangalore. The approximate value of investments over 5 years amounts to USD 84m. Vision of HCG is to be the leader in Oncology Care and the mission is to make quality cancer treatment accessible to all segments of society, across the nation. HCG has plans to set up cancer treatment centres across the Karnataka so that the facilities are made available for the people without them having to leave their homes and traveling to metros. Plans for setting up Centre of Excellence in Oncology in Bangalore for research and development activities in Oncology is also in the plans. www.pet-sensation.com
Our Centres: Bangalore Institute of Oncology, Bangalore; Bangalore Institute of Oncology-Subspecialty Centre, Bangalore; Curie Centre of Oncology, Bangalore; HCG Centre of Oncology, Erode; Malnad Institute of Oncology, Shimoga; Bharath Hospital and Institute of Oncology, Mysore; HCG Advanced Isotopes Private Limited, Bangalore (Cyclotron project); HCG Advanced Medical Imaging Private Ltd, Bangalore (PET-CT Project); Triesta Sciences (India), Bangalore (A premier Oncology research centre and advanced Reference Lab) ; Projects currently under various stages of execution ; Gokula-Curie Centre of Oncology, MS Ramaiah Campus, Bangalore ; Curie Centre of Oncology, Vijayawada, AP ; MIMS-Curie Centre of Oncology, Calicut, Kerala ; Curie Centre of Oncology, Hubli; Curie-Manavata Cancer Centre, Nasik ; Centre of Excellence in Oncology, New Delhi ; Bangalore Institute of Oncology, Guwahati ; Bangalore Institute of Oncology, Ahmedabad
Cancer affects an estimated 10 million people worldwide. This figure includes incidence, prevalence and mortality. India has a reported incidence of 1 million new cases in 2002. The number of cases have doubled in the last 30 years and is the 6th leading cause of death. 3 million patients are undergoing treatment for cancer and an estimated expenditure for cancer treatment is US $1.2 billion.
The Discovery STE is a fusion of the high-speed, high-resolution capabilities of GE's computed tomography (CT) scanner and the metabolic and physiologic capabilities of its industry leading positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. PET scans demonstrate the biological function of the body before anatomical changes take place, while CT scans provide information about the body's anatomy such as size, shape and location. By combining these two scanning technologies, PET/CT scans enable physicians to more accurately diagnose and identify cancer, heart disease and brain disorders. A PET/CT image allows physicians to see cancer earlier, localize and personalize treatment, and carefully monitor that treatment. It's the tool of choice for oncology applications today. At the heart of the Discovery STE is the revolutionary Discovery Dimension Console, fully integrated to optimize PET/CT workflow. The new Discovery Dimension Console provides a wider range of choices to meet patient's clinical needs, enabling physicians to simultaneously complete a static image and 4-D motion study in one acquisition; perform advanced image reconstruction techniques of 2-D and 3-D for excellent image quality on every patient exam; and tailor the CT X-ray dose to each patient, a capability that can reduce dose by up to 40 percent.
Cyclotron is a charged-particle accelerator used to accelerate electrically charged sub nuclear particles, such as protons, deutrons and alpha particles to high energies. When the accelerated beam reaches its maximum energy it can be directed onto a target material causing nuclear reactions to occur that result in the formation of radionuclides in a manner similar to neutron activation in a reactor.
PETtrace is GE's highest capacity versatile cyclotron, which allows for single target yields of up to 2.5 Curies per hour for 18F- production, along with the production of several research isotopes. The cyclotron has the capability to operate in dual beam mode giving you the capacity to meet your distribution needs by almost doubling the output.
In PET scanning, patients receive a dose of a radioisotope containing substances that mimic those normally used in the body, including water, sugar, proteins and oxygen. These radioisotopes accumulate in diseased cells differently than they do in healthy cells. During the scan the radioisotopes are detected by the scanner, which allows a picture of the patient's anatomy to be created. This picture helps doctors locate and determine the extent (or stage) of a disease and track how rapidly tumors are growing. It also is valuable for monitoring the progress of cancer treatment like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and for monitoring patients for recurrence of cancers.
Medical cyclotrons produce the radioisotopes used in PET scanning. The ability to produce these radioisotopes at HCG will not only save in health care costs, it will give entire South India access to isotopes that were previously unavailable to them. The radioisotopes used in PET scanning have very short half-lives, which means they have a limited life span before their radioactivity decays to the point they can no longer be used (some half-lives are only 2 minutes). Only one isotope, currently in use at the HCG, fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), has a half-life long enough to allow transportation from out-of-state cyclotron facilities.
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