Country for PR: United Kingdom
Contributor: PR Newswire Europe
Wednesday, July 15 2020 - 16:05
AsiaNet
Terumo Acquires Quirem Medical to Enhance its Interventional Oncology Field
TOKYO and DEVENTER, Netherlands, July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Terumo Corporation (TSE: 4543) today announced it has completed the acquisition 
of Quirem Medical B.V., a Netherlands-based healthcare startup specializing in 
the development of next-generation microspheres for Selective Internal 
Radiation Therapy (SIRT), a treatment for liver tumors. Under the terms of the 
agreement, Terumo acquired 80.1% of the shares of Quirem Medical. This is over 
and above its current share position of 19.9%, making Quirem Medical now a 
wholly owned subsidiary of Terumo.

Terumo will make a one-time, up-front payment of USD 20 million with up to USD 
25 million additional payments based on the achievement of future milestones by 
2030. It will be funded through cash on hand and will not significantly impact 
the company’s financial projections for the current fiscal year ending March 
31, 2021.

Quirem Medical has developed and manufactures QuiremSpheres(TM), the only 
commercially available microspheres containing the radioactive isotope 
Holmium-166. Recent trials have shown the safety and efficacy of holmium 
microspheres for the treatment of unresectable liver cancer. To improve patient 
selection, therapy planning and treatment verification, QuiremSpheres can be 
visualized and quantified even in low concentrations by means of Single-Photon 
Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This 
is unique and cannot be done with currently available Yttrium-90 based 
microspheres.

Furthermore, Quirem Medical also produces QuiremScout(TM), a low dose holmium 
microsphere that helps evaluate the biodistribution of microspheres prior to 
therapy, and a dosimetry software package, Q-Suite(TM), which is used to plan 
QuiremSpheres treatments based on QuiremScout dose imaging. Q-Suite is also 
able to determine SIRT success immediately after the procedure by converting 
SPECT and MR imaging into absorbed dose distributions. Together, these three 
integrated products (QuiremSpheres, QuiremScout and Q-Suite) make up the full 
Holmium SIRT Platform. The Holmium Platform equips physicians with the 
necessary tools to optimize SIRT outcomes through more personalized treatment, 
addressing the individual needs of each patient.

QuiremSpheres, QuiremScout and Q-Suite are CE-Marked and currently available in 
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). In the coming years, Terumo intends 
to launch the Holmium Platform globally as part of the ongoing expansion of its 
interventional oncology (IO) portfolio.

“The acquisition of Quirem Medical further strengthens our business, expands on 
our manufacturing and clinical development activities, and complements our 
comprehensive suite of offerings to support our customers,” said Jim Rushworth, 
Chief Commercial Officer of the Interventional Systems Division of Terumo.

Using Quirem’s innovative Holmium-166 platform technology, physicians are 
further empowered to drive treatment outcomes after SIRT. “By adding the 
Holmium-166 platform to our existing IO portfolio, we will further contribute 
to giving liver cancer patients a better future,” said Laurent Domas, Vice 
President, Global Interventional Oncology Strategy & Therapy Development, 
Terumo Europe. "This acquisition reflects Terumo's commitment to build a broad 
platform of loco-regional treatment options for liver cancer and is another 
step forward as we aim to develop and provide treatment solutions for other 
organs as well.”

“We are very excited with the acquisition of Quirem Medical by Terumo as it 
will further drive the adoption of our unique product offerings worldwide and 
accelerate our pace of innovation, reaching more patients that will benefit 
from our technology,” said Jan Sigger, CEO of Quirem Medical.

The global interventional oncology market value is more than USD 1 billion, 
which is a rapidly growing field with a CAGR of 7%. Within this field, SIRT is 
one of the main treatments that is expected to help to drive this growth year 
on year.

Terumo has been building its presence in the interventional oncology field, 
with product offerings such as the micro catheter system (Progreat(TM)), 
compressible microspheres for embolization (HydroPearl(TM)), drug-eluting 
microspheres (LifePearl(TM)), and biodegradable drug eluting microspheres 
(BioPearl(TM)). In 2015, Terumo invested in Quirem Medical and became the 
exclusive global distributor of their technology.

About Quirem Medical B.V.
Quirem Medical develops and commercializes the next-generation Selective 
Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) microspheres based on the radioisotope 
Holmium-166. The company believes the treatment outcome of unresectable liver 
cancer with SIRT can be optimized with Holmium-166 microspheres, which can be 
visualized and quantified to improve SIRT patient selection, treatment planning 
and treatment verification. Its innovative Holmium-166 platform technology 
provides physicians a complete CE-marked SIRT solution including 
QuiremScout(TM), QuiremSpheres(TM) and the supporting dosimetry software 
Q-Suite(TM). The company is based in Deventer, the Netherlands and has 
approximately 30 employees.

About Terumo
Terumo (TSE:4543) is a global leader in medical technology and has been 
committed to "Contributing to Society through Healthcare" for nearly 100 years. 
Based in Tokyo and operating globally, Terumo employs more than 25,000 
associates worldwide to provide innovative medical solutions in more than 160 
countries and regions. The company started as a Japanese thermometer 
manufacturer and has been supporting healthcare ever since. Now, its extensive 
business portfolio ranges from vascular intervention and cardio-surgical 
solutions, blood transfusion and cell therapy technology, to medical products 
essential for daily clinical practice. Terumo will further strive to be of 
value to patients, medical professionals, and society at large.

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Source: Terumo