- Bringing clinical insights into early product development

Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company (Varian), today announced a five-year 
research and professional services agreement with Icon Group (Icon). Through 
this agreement, Icon will participate in clinical and technical research 
programs, product evaluation projects, and clinical consultations with Varian 
to offer Icon's clinical expertise and industry perspectives throughout product 
development.

Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, Icon is one of the largest cancer care 
network providers in Asia Pacific, with over 2.5 million patient interactions 
annually. The strategic partnership enables business leaders across Varian, 
Siemens Healthineers, and Icon to collaborate on new learnings and techniques 
in radiation therapy to advance patient-centric solutions and accelerate the 
development of market-ready products.

Mark Middleton, Icon Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are proud to have 
a long-standing global relationship with Varian, which shares the same mission 
and patient-centric approach to cancer care. Through this five-year 
partnership, we look forward to once again supporting Varian's world-class team 
in developing products and services that have the potential to efficiently 
deliver more advanced care to even more patients in more regions across the 
world."

Kevin O'Reilly, President of Radiation Oncology Solutions at Varian, said, 
"Timely care is critical to improving outcomes for patients, and this 
partnership with Icon builds on our efforts to reduce the time that elapses 
between a cancer diagnosis and treatment. Together with Icon, we can evaluate 
how new products can integrate into existing systems and continuously improve 
our technology services, all with a focus on enhancing the patient experience."

Building on the agreement between the two companies ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3518547-1&h=3734404678&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.varian.com%2Fabout-varian%2Fnewsroom%2Fpress-releases%2Fvarian-and-icon-group-partner-extend-commitment-global&a=agreement+between+the+two+companies 
) in April 2021 to install Varian linear accelerators across Australia and 
Asia, Varian and Icon will conduct clinical and technical research evaluating 
the hardware and software systems involved in diagnostics, treatment planning, 
and radiation therapy for cancer patients. The companies' research will also be 
published and used to advance broader industry-wide education efforts, 
including training programs to support healthcare providers using radiation 
therapy.

The first project between the two organizations will focus on the use of 
Artificial Intelligence in contouring to reduce the time it takes to plan 
radiation therapy treatment. Contouring involves outlining the tumor and nearby 
organs to deliver precise radiation therapy to the tumor site and avoid healthy 
tissue. AI contouring enables high quality Organs at Risk (OAR) contouring and 
standardization with AI-powered algorithms. This is designed to help simplify 
the radiotherapy planning workflow and potentially allow healthcare providers 
to spend time on other tasks.

This project will be one of many throughout the five-year partnership through 
which both companies will conduct cutting edge research to advance the future 
of radiation oncology and reduce the global cancer burden.

About Icon Group

Icon Group is one of Asia Pacific's largest comprehensive cancer care 
providers. The Group has expanded globally into Singapore, Mainland China, Hong 
Kong and New Zealand and has a strong history of cancer research, now operating 
the largest private cancer clinical trials program in Australia. Icon Group has 
50 cancer centres with several currently in development, including day oncology 
hospitals, radiation oncology facilities and comprehensive centres that bring 
both oncology disciplines together.

The Group also encompasses Epic and Slade Pharmacy: providers of medication 
management and pharmacy services to the hospital, oncology and aged care 
sectors; and Slade Health: one of Australia's largest chemotherapy compounders 
with three TGA-approved manufacturing sites across the eastern seaboard and one 
set-to open in Auckland, New Zealand by mid-2022. For more information visit 
www.icongroup.global and follow Icon Group on LinkedIn at 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/icon-group

About Varian 

At Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, we envision a world without fear of 
cancer. For more than 70 years, we have developed, built, and delivered 
innovative cancer care technologies and solutions for our clinical partners 
around the globe to help them treat millions of patients each year. We are 
working to harness advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine 
learning and data analytics to enhance cancer treatment and expand access to 
care. Our 11,000 employees across 70 locations keep the patient and our 
clinical partners at the center of our thinking as we power new victories in 
cancer care. Because, for cancer patients everywhere, their fight is our fight. 
For more information, visit http://www.varian.com and follow @VarianMedSys on 
Twitter.

Press Contacts:
Varian: Tom.Harding@Varian.com 
Icon Group: jenny.hansen@icongroup.global   

Investor Relations Contact:
Siemens Healthineers Investor Relations ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3518547-1&h=3682248458&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.corporate.siemens-healthineers.com%2Finvestor-relations%2Fcontact&a=Siemens+Healthineers+Investor+Relations 
)

SOURCE: Varian