Royal Philips (NYSE:PHG) said it signed a deal with Profound Medical to use Profound’s proprietary transurethral ultrasound ablation technology to treat prostate cancer patients in conjunction with Philips’ Ingenia and Achieva 3 tesla MRI systems.
Profounds ‘Tulsa’ system allows for a minimally invasive, whole-gland ablation of the prostate, which will be guided by Philips MRI machines, the companies said.
“Philips has stepped forward and enthusiastically shares our vision for the technology. With their support, Tulsa-Pro will soon be available to clinicians and patients for primary treatment of localized prostate cancer. This new relationship will provide us with access to a large installed base of MRI systems and customers and we look forward to developing this mutually rewarding relationship further,” Profound Medical CEO Steve Plymale said in prepared remarks.
The treatment requires only a single session and has comparable outcomes to the best alternative treatment options, the companies said.
“With 3T MRI emerging as a technology standard for multi-parametric MRI diagnostic imaging of the prostate, our collaboration with Profound Medical will enable us to offer our customers access to a novel MR guided ultrasound ablation therapy that’s critical to prostate care research. We look forward to teaming with Profound Medical to refine the integration of our technologies and drive clinical research and reimbursement efforts with the ultimate objective to improve clinical performance and enhance the patient experience,” Philips Medical MR therapy general manager Christopher Busch said in prepared remarks.
Profound said it is slated to release 12-month, 30-patient safety and feasibility study data on the Tulsa-Pro, with a goal of obtaining CE Mark approval in the European Union and the commercialization of the Tulsa-Pro in both Europe and Canada next year.
In May, Profound went public on the Canadian market after a reverse merger and revealed $24 million from a private placement to fund a pivotal trial of the Tulsa-Pro device.