PMB Announces EIT Health Supported FLASHKNiFE Consortium Towards the Clinical Application of FLASH Radiation Therapy

PEYNIER, France, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PMB announces the launch of the FLASHKNiFE Consortium, supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology for Health (EIT Health). This European public-private partnership aims at advancing radiation therapy by introducing a new radiotherapy device into clinical practice.

More than 10 million patients receive radiation therapy each year worldwide, making it an essential tool for cancer treatment, along with surgery and chemotherapy. Moreover, 30% to 40% of treated patients are resistant to radiotherapy. Radiation-induced side effects severely limit the radiation dose given to the tumor. If toxicity could be reduced, a greater dose of radiation could be given, providing a more efficient and better tolerated outcome in cancer treatment.

The FLASHKNiFE Consortium aims to address this challenge by using FLASH radiation therapy, a recently discovered method of administering radiotherapy. Given in a single, very short treatment session, FLASH radiotherapy has been shown to cause less side effects than conventional radiotherapy in several preclinical and clinical studies.

The Consortium brings together high-profile institutions across Europe who will be working over the next three years to achieve this goal: PMB, Alcen, Institut Gustave Roussy, Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and ProductLife Group. With a total budget of €8.2 million, FLASHKNiFE is co-funded by the EIT Health (€2.5M) and the partners.

To advance the clinical application of FLASH radiotherapy, the FLASHKNiFE Consortium as well as our additional clinical partner CHUV, will conduct a multi-centric clinical investigation on skin cancer, starting in 2023.

Prof. Eric Deutsch, Head of Gustave Roussy Radiotherapy Department, says: "the decision to embark on this very exciting EIT Health project was made because it brought together a biological innovation, the FLASH concept, a technology innovation, FLASHKNiFE, and the ability to turn these innovations into reality for the patient."

About PMB:

PMB is an innovative company specialized in the design and manufacture of complex mechanical assemblies for the industries of Defense, Medical and Research. Since the late 2000s, the company has developed complex systems integrating particle accelerators for nuclear medicine, non-destructive testing, and a FLASH radiotherapy system. PMB is a subsidiary of Alcen, an industrial diversified French group with a strong focus on innovation advancing societal challenges.

For more information visit: www.pmb-alcen.com          

Press Information:

Fatine Slaouiflashknife-consortium@pmb-alcen.com +33 4 42 53 13 13Home page | FLASHKNiFE project

The consortium's mission: To achieve the translation of FLASH radiation therapy to clinical use and therefore provide cost-effective treatments to patients as well as improve the radiotherapy patient journey.

Electron Beam FLASH Radiation Therapy Device for Clinical Investigations