Elekta Opens South Korea Office to Support Country’s Growing Cancer Management Needs

Press Release
Stockholm, Sweden, September 2, 2010

Expansion to seventh Asia Pacific office reflects accelerating growth in region’s healthcare markets

The Asia Pacific region continues to demonstrate strong growth, fueling demand for healthcare services and technology in the region’s populous countries. South Korea, the world’s 15th largest economy, is among the leaders in Asia Pacific and the site of Elekta’s newest international office located in Bundang, an hour drive from the capital of South Korea, Seoul.

Elekta has a strong foothold in radiosurgery in South Korea, with an installed base of 16 Leksell Gamma Knife® units. With increased local presence, Elekta expects to build on its leading position in radiosurgery and strengthen its share of the radiotherapy market, thereby making cancer care available for more people in the country.

“South Korean clinics and medical centers are addressing an increasing demand for healthcare in general, and cancer management in particular,” says Ian Alexander, Executive Vice President of Elekta’s Asia Pacific Region. “Cancer incidences are rising in concert with the growth of the 65-years and older population, which represents nearly 10 percent of South Korea’s 49 million residents. This new office provides another much-needed channel through which our South Korean customers can satisfy their requirements for cancer care solutions.”

“The Asia Pacific region as a whole is increasing its acquisition of Elekta equipment in response to a surge in cancer cases”, he adds. “The countries in this region collectively account for an increasingly large percentage of Elekta’s global business.”

The South Korea office is in the process of reinforcing a strong organizational foundation.

“These positions will be key in providing the best service and support to existing customers as well as reinforce the growth Elekta is experiencing in Korea,” adds Ian Alexander.

Elekta also has Asia Pacific offices in Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Australia.

Benchmarks Include Advanced Treatment System and Elekta VMAT

Two prestigious medical centers in South Korea, Eulji University Medical Center (Seongnam) and the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences (KIRAMS, Dongnam), represent Elekta’s recent growth in the country. 

• Eulji University Medical Center planned an Elekta VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) treatment with the Monaco® treatment planning system and delivered Elekta VMAT for the first time on May 31, 2010, for a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. 
  
• KIRAMS recently placed the country’s first order for Elekta Infinity™, a system designed for Elekta VMAT, delivering exceptional dose conformance, treatment speed and ultra-low dose safeguards.

“We’re very pleased to have Korea’s first Elekta Infinity, a fully digital linear accelerator that can deliver advanced, highly accurate, image guided radiation therapy and Elekta VMAT treatments,” says Charn Il Park, M.D., KIRAMS superintendent. “The system will enable the center to serve our patients and improve the standard of both treatment accuracy and quality of life after treatment through better control and sparing of healthy tissue. We believe patients in Busan and from elsewhere who come to KIRAMS will benefit from this technology.”

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For further information, please contact:
Stina Thorman, Vice President Corporate Communications, Elekta AB
Tel: +46 8 587 254 37, e-mail: stina.thorman@elekta.com
Time zone: CET: Central European

About Elekta
Elekta is a human care company pioneering significant innovations and clinical solutions for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops sophisticated, state-of-the-art tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care. Stretching the boundaries of science and technology, providing intelligent and resource-efficient solutions that offer confidence to both healthcare providers and patients, Elekta aims to improve, prolong and even save patient lives, making the future possible today.

Today, Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in over 5,000 hospitals globally, and every day more than 100,000 patients receive diagnosis, treatment or follow-up with the help of a solution from the Elekta Group.

Elekta employs around 2,500 employees globally. The corporate headquarter is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the company is listed on the Nordic Exchange under the ticker EKTAb.

About Elekta VMAT
With Elekta VMAT the treatment gantry—the part of the machine from which radiation beams originate—is in constant motion, with single or multiple gantry arc(s) sweeping around the patient. During these arc(s), the radiation intensity is continuously varied and modulated. This ensures a computer assisted delivery, according to the anatomical and tumor characteristics of the patient and the dose prescription. Using dynamic gantry arcs, Elekta VMAT can result in significantly reduced treatment times, while providing a more personalized treatment. In conventional “fixed gantry” therapy, the gantry makes several stops, which add to the overall treatment time and result in a longer session.

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