Insightec is a young company. It was founded in 1999 and has received
$84 million in investments to date. InSightec developed ExAblate
2000, a focused ultrasound ablation device that can be integrated
with a GE 1.5T.
Its first commercial development was the ExBlade, launched in 2000,
which used focused ultrasound waves to scorch tumors inside the body,
without breaking the skin. The device was appended to MRI - magnetic
resonance imaging - machines made by General Electric.
Its award-winning technology was a revolution in tumor treatment,
which until then had been based on invasive surgical extraction.
Today its systems operate at 12 hospitals around the world, including
the Sheba hospital at Tel Hashomer, Israel.
The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved an
InSightec ultrasound device, ExAblate, to treat uterine fibroids.
These are clumps of tissue that can cause
miscarriages, painful menstruation and related problems in women,
explained InSightec.
The system uses ultrasound waves to break up the clumps and can
provide an alternative to the removal of a uterus, or hysterectomy.
But the FDA cautioned that the ExAblate 2000 System is not intended
for women who want to become pregnant in the future.
About 80 percent of women suffer from uterine fibroids at some point
in life, according to the National Institutes of Health. Symptoms
include pain, bleeding and uterine swelling, accompanied by a
heightened need to urinate. But many women have no symptoms. Up to
25% will eventually require a hysterectomy, The ExAblate proffers a
non-invasive alternative to many. Sometimes fibroids are treated with
hormone therapy, but in that case the growths tend to recur,
InSightec explains.
The ExAblate uses magnetic resonance imaging to pinpoint the
non-cancerous tumors. Heat from carefully guided ultrasound waves
then selectively kills the fibroid tissue, which is flushed from the
body naturally. The company says its treatment is practically
painless, and obviates the need for hospitalization, which sharply
reduces healthcare costs. Patients lost an average of 1.2 working
days compared with 19 in the case of women who underwent hysterectomy.
GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Co., said it was
collaborating with InSightec to deliver the ExAblate system, which
works with GE's Signa MR system. InSightec says the FDA approval
followed trials on 109 women in seven medical centers around the
world. Significant improvement was reported in 71% of cases, it said.
InSightec president and chief operating officer Dr. Jacob Vortman
said his company is investigating possible use of the device to treat
breast, liver, bone and brain cancers. "Today's approval ...
underscores the importance of imaging technologies not only as
diagnostic tools, but also as a therapeutic modality," Vortman
explained.
Recently, InSightec completed a $21 million financing round from its
existing shareholders. For the purpose of the investment the company
was valued at $100 million.
Insightec, one of Israel's hottest companies plans to seek a listing
on Nasdaq. Insightec and has chosen Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley
as its underwriters. The issue is planned to reach the market in 2005
at an estimated valuation of $500m.Insightec has won acclaim and
awards for its novel surgical systems, that combine magnetic
resonance technology with ultrasound to noninvasively treat tumors
inside the body.
Elbit Medical Imaging (Nasdaq:EMITF) controls it with a 52% holding,
and General electric owns 20%.