InSightec Image Guided Treatment Ltd. has signed a worldwide sales and marketing agreement with GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), for the sales and marketing of its ExAblate 2000, a magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) system.
InSightec is a privately held company owned by Elbit Medical Imaging (Nasdaq: EMITF; TASE: EMIT).
ExAblate 2000 is a non-invasive therapy system that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with highly focused ultrasound to thermally ablate (destroy) tumors in the body. The ExAblate 2000 works exclusively with the Signa MR systems made by GE Healthcare.
Under the terms of this agreement, GE Healthcare will have exclusive worldwide distribution rights for ExAblate except in Japan and Russia where InSightec already has existing distributors and representatives. InSightec and GE Healthcare will also collaborate on marketing and research and development. The agreement is for five years, effective immediately.
GE is a minority shareholder in InSightec.
"We are very pleased to have a formal agreement with GE Healthcare, the leader in the MR marketplace," InSightec president and CEO Dr. Jacob Vortman. "This relationship offers a clear differentiation for GE Healthcare, while allowing us to accelerate penetration of our MR guided focused ultrasound technology in markets around the world."
To date approximately 1,200 women have been treated with ExAblate 2000 for uterine fibroids, a benign condition that affects approximately 25% of women. Clinical trials are underway for bone, liver, and breast tumors.
InSightec was founded in 1999 to develop MRgFUS technology. Headquartered near Haifa, Israel, the company has over 100 employees and has invested more than $80 million in research, development, and clinical investigations. Its US headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on Wednesday, August 17, 2005