Nordion celebrates first anniversary of market launch of TheraSphere

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Feb 17 2012

Nordion Inc. (TSX: NDN) (NYSE: NDZ), a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, today celebrated the first anniversary of the market introduction of TheraSphere, an innovative radioembolic liver cancer therapy, in the Republic of Turkey. The first treatment was administered in Ankara in December 2010. Since then, more than 80 patients have undergone the treatment in more than a half-dozen private and public hospitals across the country.

TheraSphere, available in 16 countries around the world, is a targeted liver cancer therapy consisting of millions of tiny glass beads, each smaller than the diameter of a human hair, containing yttrium-90 (Y-90). In Turkey, it is approved to treat both hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of primary liver cancer, and metastatic liver cancer (cancer that has spread to the liver from another point of origin).

To mark the anniversary, a news conference is being held today at Acibadem Maslak Hospital, a state-of-the-art private hospital in Istanbul with a strong specialization in cancer treatment. Physicians and Nordion representatives will provide information and demonstrations on how radioembolic therapy works, how it is administered, and what patients undergoing treatment can expect.

Dr. Riad Salem, Professor of Radiology, Medicine and Surgery and Director, Interventional Oncology at Northwestern University in Chicago, is attending the news conference and will present the point of view of a doctor who has been a long-standing researcher and clinician applying this treatment in patients with liver cancer.

"This novel treatment allows me to target radiation directly at the tumour from inside the body, and limits damage to the healthy surrounding tissue," said Dr. Salem. "The procedure can be performed in about one hour, the patients often go home the same day, and studies have shown that side effects are usually not as severe as with other treatments. Quality of life and comfort are very important to patients with this disease and to their families."

According to GLOBOCAN, the World Health Organization (WHO)'s agency for cancer data and research, more than 1,090 new cases of primary liver cancer were diagnosed in men and women in Turkey in 2008, with approximately 1,050 deaths from primary liver cancer that same year. In addition, approximately 60 percent of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients will develop liver metastases, and more than 7,200 new cases of CRC were diagnosed in Turkey in 2008.

"Nordion made a strategic decision to launch TheraSphere in Turkey last year and our commercial efforts, together with those of our Turkish distributor, Eczacibasi Monrol Nuclear Products, mean more physicians in the region are aware and now have access to this innovative treatment, to the benefit of their patients," said Kevin Brooks, Nordion's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "The clinical adoption we have seen in Turkey over the past 12 months supports our decision to expand into this market, and clearly demonstrates a strong clinical interest in TheraSphere."

The therapy is currently available at the following hospitals in Turkey: