Drug-Eluting Beads and Embolization Products To Be Available Directly to Physicians

The specialist healthcare company BTG has announced that its DC Bead and Bead Block products will be sold directly to customers in 11 European countries beginning April 1, 2015. The complementary interventional drug-eluting and embolization products are used in minimally invasive procedures performed by an interventional radiologist. These products, developed and manufactured by BTG, are currently sold in Europe by the Terumo Corporation under a contract that expires on March 31, 2015.

BTG announced in May 2014 that it was expanding its commercial presence in Europe by building a direct sales force to promote the approved uses of its products in major European markets, initially to focus on the radioembolization product TheraSphere. 

Other European markets will be served by distributors working directly with BTG. BTG will work to ensure an uninterrupted supply of these products in Europe and will invest in further innovation and clinical development.

Interventional medicine is a fast-growing area of medicine driven by demand for better treatments and outcomes, advances in imaging techniques, and product innovation.

DC Bead is an embolic drug-eluting bead capable of loading and releasing chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver metastases from colorectal and other cancers.

Bead Block is an embolic device for embolizing blood vessels in a variety of hypervascularized tumors and arteriovenous malformations and most commonly is used for the treatment of uterine fibroids and other benign tumors.

“Directly supplying both beads and Therasphere to specialist interventional oncology physicians in Europe will allow us to offer them a unique portfolio of products to treat their patients,” said Louise Makin, CEO of BTG, in a press release published by BTG. “Our interactions with these physicians will also provide us valuable insights into treatment practice and unmet medical needs that will help guide future development efforts. In parallel, we continue to build our commercial and regulatory capabilities in other geographies, including Asia.”

Alban Denys, MD, MSc, is professor and head of Digestive and Oncological Imaging and Interventional Radiology at University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland. His unit provides ablation techniques (microwave, radiofrequency, cryotherapy) and arterial procedures such as chemoembolization, intra-arterial ports, and radioembolization in addition to standard procedures such as biopsy drainage and gastrostomies. His work focuses on research into locoregional therapies for liver tumors and he has partnered with the University of Geneva, the French Institute of Health and Medical Research, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop new interventional oncology tools. 

Denys has used DC Bead for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in the intermediate stage both as a stand-alone technique and in combination with radiofrequency for more than 3cm HCC. He believes a direct connection with BTG is beneficial for physicians, particularly in the academic setting. 

“[With this connection] we then have direct access to people involved in clinical trials and product development. I have a productive relationship with BTG for research purposes and I expect this relationship to be even more active in the future,” said Denys.

“I had the chance to participate actively in the first trials involving DC Bead. This is a rapidly changing world with developments of both new delivery devices and new combinations of chemotherapy and beads. I am sure that BTG, who was at the forefront of these developments, will have interesting new solutions for our patients in the near future.

“DC Bead is the first generation of DEB. A more logical combination with other therapeutic agents will come. I expect that combination with antiangiogenic agents loaded on the surface or inside beads for a long delivery will be an exciting field of research. A better understanding of molecular phenomenon triggered by local delivery with or without ischemia will open the gate for interesting new products.”

DC Bead and Bead Block both received CE Mark approval in Europe in 2003 and have been sold in Europe via distributors. As of April 1, 2015, BTG will sell directly to physicians in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and the United Kingdom. 

Suggested citation: Rhodes MK. Drug-eluting beads and embolization products to be available directly to physicians. Intervent Onc 360. 2014;2(11):E80-E81.