IsoRay, Inc. (Amex: ISR) announced today that it has completed a license agreement with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (NYSE: RDY) for exclusive worldwide licensing rights to Iotrex®, a liquid iodine radiation, for use in brain cancer treatment. Iotrex® is a critical component in the GliaSite® radiation therapy system, the world's only FDA-cleared balloon catheter device used in the treatment of many forms of brain cancer. IsoRay has exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the GliaSite® therapy system.
The Iotrex® licensing agreement is a major step in the process needed to allow IsoRay to make its submission to the FDA for final approval as it moves toward the anticipated launch of its GliaSite® sales initiative in August. GliaSite® sales are expected to be an important contributor to revenue for the Company in the next two to three years. Iotrex® will allow IsoRay to address an immediate market opportunity and patient needs, while the Company proceeds toward approval for use of its proprietary liquid Cesium-131 for use in the GliaSite® therapy system.
Brain cancer is one of the fastest growing cancers and reoccurrence often proves fatal. Over 575 people a day are diagnosed with brain cancer in the United States alone. Brain tumors are very difficult to treat. Completely removing a tumor presents intricate challenges because of the need to avoid damaging the brain. Doctors must also address the complexities of tumors that tend to spread to healthy parts of the brain. Typically, surgeons remove as much as they can of the tumor and then treat the areas surrounding where the tumor was removed with radiation therapy. They sometimes use chemotherapy as well. The problems of brain tumor removal are further complicated by the fact that most cancerous brain tumors reoccur shortly following removal, and the cancer tends to return near the site of the original tumor.
The GliaSite® system is a landmark technology that allows physicians to treat more brain cancer patients than ever before with brachytherapy or internal radiation offering a number of advantages in brain cancer treatment. It places a specified high dose of a liquid radiation source in the areas most likely to contain cancer after brain tumor removal and is less likely to damage healthy brain tissue. GliaSite® attacks the remaining diseased area quickly and with great conformity to the resected tumor bed. It helps eliminate the ability for the tumor to reoccur, which directly impacts patient longevity and quality of life.
IsoRay CEO Dwight Babcock said the Company has high expectations for the GliaSite® system. "We are excited to be able to offer this important resource to physicians who are anxious to investigate its use for a number of recurring brain cancers for which there are currently no good permanent solutions available. Ultimately, we are talking about a new cause for optimism for hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children who have been afflicted with this devastating disease."
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