Varian ProBeam therapy gets green light from Saudi FDA

Varian Medical Systems' ProBeam proton therapy technology will soon be available to Saudi customers, following marketing clearance from the Saudi FDA.

Varian announced the clearance Jan. 11.

Proton therapy is considered more accurate and safe than traditional forms of radiation therapy. The treatment blasts cancer cells with protons to destroy the cells. Varian officials said the treatment has fewer side effects than conventional methods and also does less damage to healthy tissue surrounding the cancer cells.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to make life-saving proton therapy treatments available to cancer patients in this region," Moataz Karmalawy, general manager of Varian's particle therapy division, said.

Varian has 13 installation contracts for ProBeam technology at facilities across the world. The technology is already being used by the Scripps Proton Therapy Center in San Diego, the Rinecker Proton Therapy Center in Germany and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.

Varian is a publicly traded company based in California that employs more than 7,000 people at manufacturing facilities and offices around the world.