Oncura(TM) Announces Exclusive Supply and Resale Agreement With Theragenics Corporation

^{Published on 2010-07-14 04:25:30 - Market Wire}
 

Oncura(TM) Announces Exclusive Supply and Resale Agreement With Theragenics Corporation -- CHICAGO, July 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

CHICAGO, July 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ONCURA, a business unit of GE Healthcare and global leader in the minimally invasive permanent prostate brachytherapy management of prostate cancer, has announced that it has signed an agreement to distribute Theragenics Corporation TheraSeed(R) palladium-103 brachytherapy seeds.

Under the terms of the agreement, Oncura will exclusively sell the TheraSeed palladium-103 seed, subject to certain pre-existing vendor agreements, for the treatment of prostate cancer in the U.S. and Canada. The term of the agreement is through May 31, 2013 and provides for additional one-year terms upon mutual agreement of the parties.

"We are pleased to re-establish our relationship with Theragenics and offering the leading palladium seed in the industry is an important sign of our ongoing commitment to our customers and to the continued development of prostate brachytherapy, " said Thomas Barker, Urology Product Leader for GE and General Manager of Oncura. "We are excited to offer our customers both our industry standard iodine-125 based OncoSeedTM and RAPID Strand(TM) brands, our unique ThinSeed(TM) iodine-125 products, and the leading palladium-103 brand in TheraSeed(R)."

"We are pleased to be working with Oncura again," stated M. Christine Jacobs, Chairman and CEO of Theragenics. "We previously supplied Oncura and its predecessors with TheraSeed(R) from 2000 through 2005. Re-establishing our relationship with Oncura is a testament to the quality and reliability of Theragenics and TheraSeed(R) in the brachytherapy industry. Oncura has been a leading brachytherapy supplier since 1991, and they bring a unique understanding of the industry."

About Oncura

ONCURA was created in July 2003 as a joint venture of Amersham plc's brachytherapy business. On April 8, 2004, General Electric (GE) completed its acquisition of Amersham and in 2006 GE Healthcare acquired 100% ownership of the Oncura Global Brachytherapy business. Oncura is a business unit of GE Healthcare and is an acknowledged world leader in the research, development and commercialization of brachytherapy seeds. Oncura continues to set the benchmark in the development of innovative applications in brachytherapy in the areas of prostate cancer, lung cancer, ocular melanoma and other solid tumors. The manufacturing and quality assurance capabilities of GE Healthcare combined with Oncura's knowledge and expertise in the field of Brachytherapy uniquely place Oncura in position to further develop its global brachytherapy business. Oncura's goal is to ensure that all cancer patients should have access to the minimally invasive benefits of brachytherapy when it is a suitable clinical option.

[ http://www.oncura.com ]

About Theragenics

Theragenics Corporation (NYSE: TGX) operates two business segments: its surgical products business and its brachytherapy seed business. The brachytherapy business manufactures and markets its premier product, the palladium-103 TheraSeed(R) device ([ http://www.theraseed.com ]) and I-Seed, an iodine-125 based device, which are used primarily in the minimally invasive treatment of localized prostate cancer

[ http://www.theragenics.com ] CONTACT: Saheed Rashid +44-1494-737250 [ saheed.rashid@ge.com ][ http://www.oncura.com ]

SOURCE Oncura