Tracking News - More Details of Marketing Progress for IceSense3™ in Mainland China
CAESAREA, Israel, July 4, 2022 – Tumor ablation has been widely applied, and since 1998, tumor ablation application has dramatically evolved in Asia. All kinds of ablation techniques, including radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), cryoablation (CA), and irreversible electroporation (IRE), have been applied gradually. More than twenty countries in Asia have applied tumor ablation in various organs, including liver, lung, uterus, thyroid, kidney, bone, prostate, breast, etc. With the enrichment of clinical evidence, China has great contribution on tumor ablation for liver, lung, and thyroid, which provided recommendations for global standardization of tumor ablation techniques.
In all these ablation techniques, cryoablation is a minimally invasive means of treatment for cancer. Several mechanisms, including direct cell injury, vascular injury and ischemia, apoptosis, and immunomodulation evoked by cryoablative damage, are thought to contribute to tumor death. It is reportedly feasible to treat low-risk or early-stage malignant tumors of various organs, including the kidney, prostate, liver, and lung, with cryoablation. Thus, cryoablation is a plausible possible alternative to surgical resection of early stage malignancies.
How IceSense3 Works - IceCure’s unique probe freezes targeted tissue within minutes using advanced cryotherapy technology. Guided by CT or ultrasound, the probe is inserted into the tumor and liquid nitrogen generates sub-zero temperatures to turn the tumor into an ice ball. A freeze-thaw- freeze cycle destroys the targeted tissue immediately and leaves adjacent healthy tissue undamaged. The necrotic debris is eventually absorbed by the body. Each procedure is easily customized and controlled from the IceSense3™ console.
With the signing of the tripartite exclusive distribution agreement of IceCure Medical Ltd. (NASDAQ: ICCM) (TASE: ICCM)’s wholly-owned subsidiary (IceCure (Shanghai) MedTech Co., Ltd.), Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd. and Beijing Turing Medical Technology Co. Ltd., the following marketing of IceSense3 in mainland China has attracted much attention.
The number of cancer cases in China is increasing year by year, from 3.95 million in 2015 to 4.57 million in 2020, according to the World Health Organization's International Centre for Research on Cancer (IARC).With the rising number of cancer patients, the demand for cancer medical services in China also increases. According to public reports, In latest five years, the size of China's oncology medical service market increased from 231.4 billion yuan to 371 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.53%. The market scale of tumor interventional therapy devices is also expanding rapidly.
More to Know - As an affiliate of one of the largest medical device companies in the world, Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd. currently owns a great variety of product lines, including orthopedics implant, spine surgical robot, navigation and power systems. This cooperation is a significant exploration of IceCure Medical in the global market, and the combination with Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd. can be regarded as an supplement with its existing product line.
The non-compete conditions mentioned in the agreement apply only to Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd. in mainland China, are limited to cryoablation and have no impact on Medtronic's existing or self-developed ablation treatments or any affiliate Medtronic entity and/or any country outside China. Which means, the cooperation will not affect Medtronic's investment or partnership or research in or sale of any therapies other than the cryoablation therapy of several cryoablation manufacturers in mainland China. IceSense3 is an effective liquid nitrogen (LN2) cryoablation solution, capable of destroying tumors safely, quickly and painlessly, without the need for surgery.
With the professional and mature education system, great sales force and channel of Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd., as well as the reliable after-sales service of Beijing Turing Medical Technology Co. Ltd., and also the breakthrough and innovative cryoablation technology of IceCure Medical itself, the new chapter of cryoablation in mainland China can be expected soon.
About Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd.
Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang Medical Devices Co. Ltd., an affiliate of Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), will be the exclusive distributor of the IceSense3 and its disposable probes in mainland China for three years.
About IceCure Medical Ltd.
Founded in 2006, Israel-based IceCure Medical (NASDAQ: ICCM) (TASE: ICCM) develops and markets ProSense®, an advanced liquid-nitrogen-based cryoablation therapy for the treatment of tumors (benign and cancerous) by freezing, with the primary focus areas being breast, kidney, bone and lung cancer. Its minimally invasive technology is a safe and effective alternative to hospital surgical tumor removal that is easily performed in a relatively short procedure. The system is marketed and sold worldwide for the indications cleared to-date by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and approved in Europe with the CE Mark.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other Federal securities laws. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates” and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For example, IceCure is using forward looking statement in this press release when it discusses IceSense3 operation, the colleberation with Shanghai Medtronic Zhikang and Beijing Turing through a distribution agreement, commercialization activities and the market opportunity for the Company’s cryoablation systems in mainland China. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on IceCure’s current expectations, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results, performance, or achievements of IceCure could differ materially from those described in or implied by the statements in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release are subject to other risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on April 1, 2022, which is available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
Released July 4, 2022
