Investor presentation and Update

RNS Number : 6494Y

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC

06 March 2017

 

ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC

("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")

Investor presentation and Update

Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of next generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment, will be hosting investor and analyst presentations in London later today and in Zürich, Switzerland, the following day, Tuesday 7 March 2017.

The presentations will outline some of the key aspects of Advanced Oncotherapy's technology, the clinical benefits of proton therapy, the rationale for using linear accelerators and the key milestones for the manufacturing and commercialisation of LIGHT (Linac for Image Guided Hadron Therapy). These events are in relation to the initial 100 day review that has been conducted by CEO Nicolas Serandour, as announced upon his appointment on 27 October 2016.

The Company's focus remains on delivering the technical development of its first LIGHT machine and its installation at Harley Street, which is pivotal to its future strategy. The details of the manufacturing and commercialisation process of Advanced Oncotherapy's LIGHT system, including installation at the Harley Street site, will be discussed during the presentation and are provided in the update below:

Harley Street

As announced last month, Deconstruct (UK) Limited has been appointed by Howard de Walden Estates as principal contractor to the project and were on site in January carrying out preliminary assessment and works. Following the preparatory works, excavation is due to commence on 27 March 2017.

All necessary tendering processes have been completed. Based on initial quotes, on-site excavation and build times for the core and shell are estimated to take between 62 and 96 weeks. Additional time of up to 52 weeks will be required for full fit-out, including the installation of cooling systems and power supplies. The construction time reflects the constraints associated with two listed buildings (141 and 143 Harley Street) in a residential area. Yet it compares favourably to building times associated with the construction of multi-room proton beam facilities using legacy technologies traditionally built in large and remote areas, which is in the range of three to four years on average. The site is therefore expected to be ready for installation by H1 2019. Following regulatory approval and commissioning, the first patient treatment at Harley Street is expected in H2 2020.

Production manufacturing site

The Company's strategy is to establish a mass production facility, which will be ready for production once regulatory approval for the LIGHT system is granted. The Company continues to advance the arrangements with its manufacturing partner, Thales, to establish two custom designed series production lines for volume production at their factory in Thonon, France. The production facility is expected to be ready to receive LIGHT system components in Q1 2018, with all components due to be installed to create a LIGHT system operating at the maximum required energy ahead of the expected completion of the building in Harley Street in H1 2019.

Technology development

As announced on 22 December 2016, the Company successfully integrated the proton source and Radio Frequency Quadruple (RFQ), and demonstrated a predictable acceleration of the proton beam through the RFQ with measurements that matched those expected from computer simulations. Following further testing at full power the Company successfully increased the acceleration and energy of the proton beam in February, from 40keV to 5MeV, which is the requirement for this module.

Further progress in the completion of the final stages of the manufacture of its first LIGHT system will continue throughout 2017 and the first LIGHT system is expected to be capable of treating superficial tumours in Q3 2018.

To maximise progress of the LIGHT system, the Company will have two testing facilities in Geneva, Switzerland and at Thales' facilities in Vélizy, France.  Additional key development milestones are included in the table further below.

Commercial opportunities & Regulatory

The Harley Street site remains the first site where the LIGHT system will be installed. Discussions are also ongoing surrounding an agreement to supply a LIGHT system alongside Circle Health's planned new-build hospital in Birmingham.

The Company is in negotiations with a handful of sites in the USA as well as other operators in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The Company remains confident that demand for its next-generation proton therapy system will be strong and that additional commercial sales will be secured in due course.

In addition, a number of meetings have been held with regulatory bodies in Europe, US and China, which provides the Company with confidence that they are pursuing a valid path to ensure future regulatory approvals.

A summary of key technical milestones is provided below:

By end Q2 2017	·     Delivery of all CCL units ·     Beam fired through RFQ
By end Q4 2017	·     Beam through SCDTLs at an energy of 20-25MeV ·     Development of the Patient Positioning System
By end Q2 2018	·     Beam fired through the first CCL ·     Directional dose delivery system (or Nozzle) ready for installation
By end Q3 2018	·     Beam capable of treating superficial tumours

The slides that will be used in the presentations will be available on the Company website:

http://www.advancedoncotherapy.com/Investors/Results-reports-and-presentations

Anyone wishing to attend the investor presentations, and have yet to do so, should contact Walbrook PR on 020 7933 8780 or email [e-mail].

For further information, please contact:

Advanced Oncotherapy plc	www.avoplc.com
Nicolas Serandour, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
Michael Sinclair, Executive Chairman
Stockdale Securities (Nomad & Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Antonio Bossi / David Coaten
Stifel Nicolaus Europe (Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Jonathan Senior / Ben Maddison
Walbrook PR (Financial PR & IR)	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus	Mob: [phone]
Anna Dunphy	Mob: [phone]

About Advanced Oncotherapy plc www.avoplc.com

Advanced Oncotherapy is a provider of particle therapy with protons that harnesses the best in modern technology. Advanced Oncotherapy's team "ADAM", based in Geneva, focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator called Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology (LIGHT). LIGHT accelerates protons to the energy levels achieved in legacy machines but in a unit that is a quarter of the size and between a quarter and a fifth of the cost. This compact configuration delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates greater precision and electronic control which is not achievable with older technologies.

Advanced Oncotherapy will offer healthcare providers affordable systems that will enable them to treat cancer with an innovative technology as well as better health outcomes and lower treatment related side effects.

Advanced Oncotherapy continually monitors the market for any emerging improvements in delivering proton therapy and actively seeks working relationships with providers of these innovative technologies. Through these relationships, the Company will remain the prime provider of an innovative and cost-effective system for particle therapy with protons.

 

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