Varian Medical Systems Acquires Calypso Medical Technologies

The Calypso System features localization technology based on electromagnetic transponders that provide a way to continuously and accurately track target location, improving the precision of prostate cancer treatments. The transponders are implanted into the prostate or prostatic bed, and then tracked with the localization and tracking system so that radiotherapy and radiosurgery targeted beams can be precisely delivered to the tumors using medical linear accelerators, such as Varian's TrueBeam platform.

The acquisition includes Calypso Medical Technologies intellectual property portfolio with some 90 current or pending patents, and an investigational device exemption (IDE) approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a clinical study evaluating real-time tracking of lung cancer tumors during radiation delivery. It is expected that the Calypso business will be integrated into Varian's Oncology Systems segment, and will continue to operate in Seattle (WA, USA). Varian will pay approximately US$10 million for Calypso, plus potential earnouts based on unit sales of Calypso products achieved beyond thresholds over the next 30 months.

“With Calypso's technology, Varian will be able to offer cancer treatment centers real time, nonionizing tumor tracking tools for enhancing the precision of their treatments,” said Timothy Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems. “These products are a perfect complement for Varian's motion management technology, including our TrueBeam platform, respiratory gating, and dynamic imaging tools for highly focused radiosurgery.”

“We are extremely gratified by the confidence and promise of this acquisition by Varian. It provides a tremendous opportunity to leverage our ‘GPS for the Body’ technology as broadly as possible,” said Edward Vertatschitsch, PhD, president and CEO of Calypso Medical. “Motion management is critical to accurately targeting the cancer so patients can experience the curative benefits of radiation therapy while protecting adjacent healthy tissue. We believe our real-time tracking capabilities will help to close the gap on this clinical challenge and I look forward to joining the Varian team to advance innovations in these areas.”

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Varian Medical Systems
Calypso Medical Technologies