Healthcare Industry News: microspheres
News Release - March 24, 2008
Sirtex Announces New President for U.S. Operations
WILMINGTON, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Sirtex Medical Limited (SRX), a leading developer of targeted and innovative cancer therapies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John Reddington as President of Sirtex Medical, Inc. This appointment is effective from March 3, 2008. Sirtex Medical, Inc. is the United States sales and marketing operations of SRX and is based in Wilmington, Massachusetts USA. Sirtex manufactures SIR-Spheres® microspheres, the only FDA-approved microsphere therapy for colorectal cancer that metastasizes to the liver.1Dr. Reddington has over 20 years of diverse experience encompassing marketing and sales, management, business development, discovery research, pre-clinical testing and clinical trials with private and public biotechnology companies. He has recently been a senior manager with a U.S. publicly traded biotechnology company focusing on gene therapy and small molecule products for cancer and cardiovascular medicine.
“With a background in research and development, strategic planning and senior management, Dr. Reddington provides excellent credentials to lead our growth in the U.S. market,” said Gilman Wong, CEO of Sirtex Medical Ltd. “He delivers by providing a clear vision to staff and building productive relationships with key opinion leaders, regulators and customers. We are excited to have John join our growing company, and look forward to his contributions as we continue to expand.”
1 Sirtex Medical Inc.’s SIR-Spheres® microspheres are indicated for the treatment of non-resectable metastatic colorectal cancer in combination with intra-arterial FUDR chemotherapy. Information regarding other disease states or agents in combination with this device that is presented in peer-reviewed literature is different from the approved USA labeling for SIR-Spheres.
About Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) using SIR-Spheres microspheres
Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is a novel treatment for inoperable liver cancer that delivers high doses of radiation directly to the site of tumors. In a minimally-invasive treatment, millions of radioactive SIR-Spheres microspheres are infused via a catheter into the liver where they selectively target liver tumors with a dose of internal radiation up to 40 times higher than conventional radiotherapy, while sparing healthy tissue.
Clinical trials have confirmed that liver cancer patients treated with SIR-Spheres microspheres have response rates higher than with other forms of treatment, resulting in increased life expectancy, greater periods without tumor activity, and improved quality of life. SIRT has been found to shrink liver tumors more than chemotherapy alone.
SIRT using SIR-Spheres microspheres is approved for use in Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America (FDA approval), European Union (CE Mark), Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Israel and India. SIRT is available in 140 treatment centers around the world, and more than 6500 patients have been treated to date.
Approximately 90 physicians in the United States use Sirtex’s SIR-Spheres microspheres in more than 86 medical centers. For more information, visit www.sirtex.com.
® SIR-Spheres is a Registered Trademark of Sirtex SIR-Spheres Pty Ltd
Source: Sirtex Medical
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