BTG (LON:BTG) said this month that an Australian patient was treated with its radiopaque drug-eluting bead.
The DC Bead Lumi product is the first commercial drug-eluting bead that can be loaded with doxorubicin or irinotecan to treat tumors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases from colorectal cancer, according to BTG.
The beads’ radiopacity enable physicians to monitor where the beads are placed in the tumor, aiding in localized drug delivery.
The DC Bead Lumi, which won CE Mark clearance in March of 2017, was used at Wesley Hospital to perform transarterial chemoembolization on a patient with liver tumors, BTG reported.
“Feedback from both physicians and their patients indicate that DC Bead Lumi is an important advance in personalised, loco-regional cancer therapy,” Dr. Anthony Wilkinson, BTG’s regional medical director, said in prepared remarks.
“As a leader in intra-hepatic therapy for HCC, BTG is excited to be able to launch our latest drug-eluting bead product in the Australian market. We anticipate that the enhanced visualization of DC Bead Lumi will lead to improved patient outcomes through more accurate delivery,” Wilkinson added.
Last year, Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced that it would spend $4.24 billion to acquire BTG and its portfolio of interventional drug-device therapies.
The Marlborough, Mass.-based company said that its acquisition of BTG would augment Boston Scientific’s capabilities in the treatment of cancer and pulmonary embolism.
