Avion Medical Skin Centres to offer innovative treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer patients

MELBOURNE, Australia - PrZen -- Avion Medical Skin Centres (AMSC) have entered into an agreement with OncoBeta® GmbH to treat non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) patients in Australia, with the new, non-invasive ^{[1] [2]} Rhenium-SCT®. The first AMSC location will open in Melbourne Victoria, to patients in Q3 2022. Treatments will be provided at a brand-new world-class facility at the Melbourne Theranostics Innovation Centre (MTIC) in North Melbourne, which provides unparalleled access to a combination of nuclear medicine technologies, therapeutics and innovative research.

AMSC is partnering with Munich-based medical device and radiochemical company, OncoBeta, who are pioneering epidermal radioisotope therapy and successfully launched Rhenium-SCT – which is set to change the way people think about NMSC treatment. Where traditional treatment methods typically involve surgery, which may have a risk of scarring or loss of function, treatment with Rhenium-SCT employs a non-invasive ^{[1] [2]} superficial application of a paste containing ß-emitting particles directly to the lesion, which eliminate cancer cells without the need for surgery. Treatment with Rhenium-SCT is painless ^{[1] [2]} and only requires a single session ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]} in most cases.

Dr. Sam Vohra, founder of AMSC, says, "We are very proud to be opening this new treatment centre in the heart of Melbourne's oncology precinct and to offer this ground-breaking treatment to NMSC patients in Australia. The clinical evidence has already proven that Rhenium-SCT is an effective alternative to traditional invasive options and can significantly improve patient outcomes and quality of life."

Professor Rod Hicks, a pioneer of therapeutic nuclear medicine and founder of MTIC notes, "The use of externally applied radioisotopes to successfully cure skin cancers goes back to the start of the last century and the discovery of radium by Marie Curie. We have known for over a hundred years that this approach works but the Oncobeta approach brings this treatment into the 21^st century with high precision in the application of radiation only to the skin cancer, sparing normal skin and without the disfiguring surgery sometimes otherwise required."

Shannon D. Brown III, CEO and Managing Director at OncoBeta, recently visited Australia, and says "We are focused on providing Rhenium-SCT in countries with the highest need, to provide as many patients as possible with beneficial clinical outcomes and positive effect on patients' quality of life. We are extremely excited for this partnership with Avion Medical Skin Centres and continuing to support physicians involved in the diagnosis and treatment of NMSCs."

Australia has the highest incidence of NMSC in the world, and diagnosis rates are continuing to rise each year ^{[6] [7]}. NMSCs are most common in areas that are exposed to the sun, including the face, head and neck/shoulders ^[8]. Avion Medical Skin Centres offers NMSC sufferers a highly effective ^[2] treatment option that removes the fear and hesitation some patients may feel around aesthetic outcomes or loss of function.

For more information about Avion Medical Skin Centres please visit www.avionmedicalskin.com.au or for more information about OncoBeta and Rhenium-SCT please visit: www.oncobeta.com.

Forward-looking statements

This announcement includes forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Avion Medical's control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning Avion Medical's plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance and/or other information that is not historical information. All such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which may accompany the forward-looking statements. Avion Medical undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.

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References

1. Sedda AF, et al. Clin Exper Dermatol. 2008;33:745–749.
2. Cipriani C, et al. J Dermatol Treat. 2020; DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2020.1793890.
3. Castellucci P, et al. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2021;48:1511–1521.
4. Cipriani C, et al. International Journal of Nuclear Medicine. 2017; July: 114–112.
5. Cipriani C, et al. Epidermal Radionuclide Therapy - Springer, 2014.
6. Lomas A, Leonardi-Bee J, Bath-Hextall F. 2012 May;166(5):1069-80. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.10830.x.
7. Diepgen TL & Mahler VM. Br J Dermatol. 2002;146 (Suppl 61):1–6.
8. Cancer Council Australia. https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/non-melanoma-skin-cancer (accessed June 2022).