Advanced Oncotherapy Regulatory News (AVO)

ADVANCED ONCOTHERAPY PLC

("Advanced Oncotherapy" or the "Company")

Harley Street update

Building work completed and project moving into fit-out stage

Advanced Oncotherapy (AIM: AVO), the developer of a next-generation proton therapy system for cancer treatment, announces that the structural building work at Harley Street, the site of the Company's first proposed commercial installation of its proton-based radiotherapy system, has been completed.

The £10m refurbishment project, the building costs of which have been borne by freeholder the Howard de Walden Estate, will now move into the fit-out phase, and will see the creation of a state-of-the-art proton beam therapy centre right in the heart of Marylebone, in Central London. The Grade II listed properties at 141 and 143 Harley Street are expected to become the home of the Company's first LIGHT system, a new cost-effective technology that has been designed to reduce the treatment price per patient to a fraction of the price charged today for proton therapy.

Unlike conventional proton beam technology, which uses large circular accelerators, the innovative linear accelerators of the LIGHT system, its modular design, and significant lower shielding requirements mean that it is ideally suited for areas of high population density or existing clinical sites. The technology has been designed to significantly reduce the level of unwanted induced radiation in the accelerator hall compared to traditional proton beam systems and therefore does not require the extensive shielding associated with the machines currently on the market. Studies required for initial planning permission demonstrated that very little unwanted radiation is generated using the LIGHT system, well within Environmental Agency guidelines.

Moving into the fit-out phase, the Company can now focus on its detailed design to support the installation of the LIGHT system. The modular nature of the LIGHT system lends itself to the quicker and more convenient installation of these easily handled modules, rather than large volumes of heavy equipment; ensuring minimal disruption, and no requirement for heavy cranes. Each LIGHT module is expected to be transported directly into the accelerator hall through a 2.7m high and 1.8m wide lift. The fact that the accelerator hall is located in the basement of the Harley Street site, which is only 156 m2, demonstrates the small footprint required for the technology. Dry-packed high-density modular concrete blocks with overlapping joints will prevent protons and neutrons passing through and will be installed during the fit-out stage.

The refurbishment process at Harley Street

In 2015, Advanced Oncotherapy was granted a 50-year lease for the site, and Howard de Walden Estate agreed to bear the cost of redevelopment. With the support of the Howard de Walden Estate, the planning permission was successfully granted by Westminster City Council in October 2016 and excavation works started in March 2017.

Simon Baynham, Property Director at Howard de Walden Estates, said:

"We are delighted that our construction phase is now over and that the project is about to enter the next phase of fit-out. This transaction demonstrates that the Harley Street Medical Area continues to attract both the best technology and consultants available. The Harley Street Medical Area continues to provide the very best healthcare that doctors and science can provide in an increasingly global medical market."

Nicolas Serandour, CEO of Advanced Oncotherapy, said:

"I am delighted that we have reached another important milestone in the pathway towards the first commercial installation of our technology. We are committed to creating a cost-effective proton therapy technology that will offer cancer patients better outcomes with lower treatment side-effects, and at the same time affordable enough to be made available to everyone who needs it. Once operational this centre is expected to be the world's first-ever centrally located, lifesaving proton therapy centre, in what was originally a residential dwelling.

"Today's news brings us one step closer to delivering on this, and we are hugely grateful for the refurbishment work committed to by the Howard de Walden Estate and which has been delivered on time and to budget."

About Advanced Oncotherapy Plc www.avoplc.com

Advanced Oncotherapy is a provider of particle therapy in the treatment of cancer, which harnesses the very best in modern technology. Advanced Oncotherapy's R&D team, ADAM, in Geneva, focuses on the development of a proprietary proton accelerator - LIGHT (Linac Image Guided Hadron Technology). LIGHT accelerates protons to the energy levels achieved in legacy machines but in a compact and truly modular unit, offering significant cost advantages. LIGHT also delivers proton beams in a way that facilitates greater precision and electronic control, which are not achievable with currently available alternative technologies.

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

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

Due to the high cost of building and operating traditional proton therapy technologies has meant that the global capacity to treat cancer patients in this way has been extremely low. Only 1% of patients eligible for radiotherapy are being treated with proton therapy currently, with a capacity for as little as 60,000 patients to be treated annually across the globe. Considering the UK alone, where roughly 360,000 patients are diagnosed with cancer each year, it is clear that there is a desperate clinical need for the roll-out of a technology that can bring the benefits of proton beam therapy to millions of patients worldwide.