Druck Icon
 

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG Enters the US Market with its Ru-106 Eye Applicators

Seneffe – Belgium, March 5, 2012. Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG (Euronext: EZBG; Reuters: EZBG.BR; Bloomberg: EZBG: BB) has just announced the launch of its Ruthenium-106 Eye Applicators on the US market, which will give physicians and eye cancer patients access to a treatment option that preserves vision.

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is a global specialist in brachytherapy, a form of radiotherapy in which cancer is treated by irradiation from a short distance. The company is the exclusive worldwide manufacturer of Ru-106 Eye Applicators (plaques) that treats uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma.

Both uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma can be fatal, if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Retinoblastoma is an eye cancer of childhood with fatality rates between 5 and 70%, depending on the geographic location. Uveal melanoma shows a peak incidence at 55 years of age. Long-term fatality rates slightly exceed 50% worldwide. The incidence of eye cancers worldwide is approximately 15,000 cases every year. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 2,300 patients in the US are diagnosed with eye cancer annually.

For more than 30 years, the unique features of Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG’s Ru-106 Eye Applicators have been saving lives all over the world. Plaque brachytherapy is a widely-used treatment option for many tumor stages, delivering a highly concentrated radiation dose to the tumor while protecting surrounding healthy tissues.

Ru-106 Eye Applicators are available in 16 different types for individual treatment. The plaques consist of a thin film of Ru-106, a beta emitter, encapsulated within pure silver sheets, with a total thickness of only 1 mm. This allows comfortable handling for the ophthalmologist. With a half-life of 374 days, the Ru-106 the Eye Applicators have a long lifetime and can be used multiple times within one year, allowing cost efficient procedures.

“We are very pleased that our Ru-106 Eye Applicators, which have an excellent safety profile and proven efficacy, will be available for the treatment of eye cancer patients in the US. The market introduction of our ophthalmic plaques is a meaningful opportunity for us to contribute to the patient-centered care in the US. Our ambition is to continuously expand our activities in this very important market with further well-proven and innovative brachytherapy solutions,” commented Abel Luzuriaga, Managing Director of Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG.

Customers who are interested in further information may contact customer.support@bebig.eu directly.


Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG
…  Contributing to saving lives!

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is a European-based group, active in the medical device sector of the healthcare industry.

Its core business is the treatment of cancer by brachytherapy, a special form of radiotherapy. Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG is a leader in brachytherapy in Europe and is headquartered in Belgium. It has a production facility in Germany and subsidiaries throughout Europe, as well as in India. Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG has also established a worldwide network of distributors and agents to support its product line.

The company’s products and equipment are intended for use by oncologists, radiologists, urologists and medical physicists.

Eckert & Ziegler BEBIG employs more than 150 people. It has been listed on the Euronext stock exchange since April 1997 (Euronext: EZBG; Reuters: EZBG.BR; Bloomberg: EZBG: BB).

Contact:
Claudia Mihlan
Head of Marketing

Paul-Emmanuel Goethals
Karolin Riehle
Investor Relations
Tel.: +32 (0) 64 520 808
E-mail: ir@dont-want-spam.bebig.eu
Website: www.bebig.eu