First European Patients Treated With DC Bead LUMI™ Radiopaque Drug-Eluting Beads

LONDON, April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

BTG plc (LSE: BTG), a global specialist healthcare company, today announced the treatment of the first patients in the EU with DC Bead LUMI™. Two patients were treated for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and one patient was treated for malignant colorectal cancer metastasised to the liver (mCRC). DC Bead LUMI™ is the first commercially available radiopaque drug-eluting bead (DEB) in the EU which can be loaded with doxorubicin or irinotecan for the local treatment of tumours in patients with HCC and mCRC, respectively. DC Bead LUMI™ is a next-generation development of DC Bead^®, the market leading drug-loadable embolic bead.

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At the Istituto Oncologico Veneto, Padova, Italy, Dr Camillo Aliberti, Director of Radiology, and his team performed transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) procedures using DC Bead LUMI™, enabling real-time, visible, lasting confirmation of bead location during and post-embolisation of tumours in the liver.

"We are very pleased with the results from treatment in our patients, and DC Bead LUMI™ offered clear, real-time evidence on the treatment of the target lesion while the long-term radiopacity means not only can we see where we are delivering the treatment during the procedure, but we can also identify areas of successful treatment - or under treatment - in follow up scans." said Dr Aliberti.  

Next Step in BTG Interventional Oncology Strategy 

Liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the world^[1], and one of the most challenging to treat. Each year, more than 700,000 patients worldwide are diagnosed with liver cancer.^[2] Interventional embolisation is an option for some patients with tumours that cannot be removed by surgery.

"DC Bead LUMI™ provides the opportunity to individualise a patient's treatment and bring a new level of control to TACE procedures. At the same time, the lasting radiopacity allows you to see rather than assume the location of the beads, providing reassurance to patients that the treatment is getting to where it needs to be." commented Duncan Kennedy, BTG Head of Interventional Oncology. "DC Bead LUMI™ is the latest step of BTG Interventional Oncology's strategy to discover and develop differentiated therapeutic innovations. The feedback from the treatment of the first patients indicates that DC Bead LUMI™ is an important advance in personalised, loco-regional cancer therapies. We're proud to offer an innovative new treatment option for patients and clinicians and look forward to providing DC Bead LUMI™ to more clinicians across the EU."

DC Bead LUMI™ gained Class III CE Mark certification in early March, 2017. 

About BTG Interventional Medicine  

BTG Interventional Medicine is part of BTG plc, a growing international specialist healthcare company. As medicine moves from major surgery to minor procedure, from the systemic to the local, no company endeavors to do more than BTG Interventional Medicine to help doctors in their quest to see more, reach further and treat smarter. Our growing portfolio of Interventional Medicine products is designed to advance the treatment of liver tumors, advanced emphysema, severe blood clots, and varicose veins. To learn more about BTG Interventional Medicine, please visit: btg-im.com.

About DC Bead LUMI™  

DC Bead LUMI™ is the first commercially available radiopaque drug-eluting bead (DEB) which can be loaded with doxorubicin or irinotecan for the local treatment of tumours in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and malignant colorectal cancer metastasised to the liver (mCRC). DC Bead LUMI™ are precisely calibrated, radiopaque DEB developed using the same core chemistry as the clinically proven DC Bead^®. DC Bead LUMI™ contain a covalently bound radiopaque moiety to offer inherent, lasting radiopacity; they are visible under imaging (computed tomography [CT], cone-beam computed tomography [CBCT] and fluoroscopy) providing visible confirmation of bead location during embolisation procedures. The lasting radiopacity of DC Bead LUMI™ means they will also be visible in follow-up scans. For more information, please visit: dcbeadlumi.com.

About DC Bead^®  

DC Bead^® is the only drug-eluting bead with CE Mark approval for loading with doxorubicin or irinotecan, providing an effective standardised liver-directed therapy for primary and metastatic liver cancer. With more than ten years' clinical experience, extensive peer-review evidence supports the benefits offered by the unique chemistry of DC Bead®. In intermediate HCC, these benefits include improved tolerability and tumour response versus cTACE and high rates of five-year survival.^[3]-[7] In metastatic colorectal cancer patients, DC Bead® has been shown to offer improved survival and enhanced quality of life versus systemic chemotherapy alone.^[8] For instructions for use and important safety information, please visit: dcbead.com.

For further information contact:

BTG plc                    
Chris Sampson, Corporate Communications
+44-(0)-20-7575-1595; Mobile: +44-7773-251-178    
Email: chris.sampson@btgplc.com

Media Liaison                    
Jonathan Falcone
+44-(0)-20-8618-2752; Mobile: +44-7825-238-898
Email: j.falcone@togorun.com

References:
^[1] World Health Organization (WHO). Cancer factsheet. Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/. Last accessed April, 2017.
^[2] American Cancer Society. What are the key statistics about liver cancer?. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/livercancer/detailedguide/liver-cancer-what-is-key-statistics. Last accessed April, 2017.
^[3] Lammer J et al. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 2010; 33: 41-52.
^[4] Song MJ et al. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2011; 23: 521-7.
^[5] Dhanasakeran R et al. J Surg Oncol 2010; 101: 476-80.
^[6] Burrel M et al. J Hepatol 2012; 56: 1330-5.
^[7] Malagari K et al. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 2012; 35: 1119-28.
^[8] Fiorentini G et al. Anticancer Res 2012; 32: 1387.