Sponsored by
Novocure™ Establishes Initial Clinical Centers of Excellence for Treatment of
Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme with Tumor Treating Fields
(TTFields)™ Therapy
Four clinical sites in the U.S. have completed required training and are certified to provide novel therapy
to patients using the NovoTTF-100A System™; three additional clinical sites planned by year end
PORTSMOUTH, NH – December 2 – Novocure™, a commercial stage private oncology
company, has announced that prominent neuro-oncologists at four clinical centers in the U.S.
will be the first to provide access to its Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields)™ device, NovoTTF-
100A System™, for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is a
deadly brain tumor affecting approximately 10,000 Americans each year.
The NovoTTF™ device, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April 2011, will be
available for prescription use in the U.S. initially through several noted brain cancer research
centers whose staff have completed training in the use of this unique device. The neurooncologists
and their centers are:
• Dr. Eric T. Wong, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts
• Dr. Jay-Jiguang Zhu, Mischer Neuroscience Institute in the Memorial Hermann Hospital
and The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
• Dr. Joseph Landolfi, New Jersey Neuroscience Institute at JFK, Edison, New Jersey
• Dr. Herbert Engelhard, University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, Illinois
Novocure expects to train the following clinicians and their staff at the following clinical sites by
year end:
• Dr. Andrew Lassman, Columbia University Medical Center at New York – Presbyterian
Hospital, New York, New York
• Dr. Lisa DeAngelis, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
• Dr. Santosh Kesari, University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center, San
Diego, California
“We are pleased to be working closely with these prestigious clinicians and their clinical staff to
provide GBM patients with an effective treatment option, and one which does not have the usual
debilitating side effects of traditional chemotherapy,” said Gabriel Leung, Novocure’s Chairman
of Global Commercialization. “The clinical staff at these centers have mastered the training and
received the certification needed to provide the Novocure TTF therapy to patients. We recognize
and appreciate the time and effort dedicated by these individuals to ensure their patients have
access to this new treatment.”
GBM is the most aggressive and most common form of primary brain tumor in the U.S. The
disease affects approximately 10,000 Americans each year. The median overall survival time
from initial diagnosis is 15 months with optimal treatment, and median survival from the time of
tumor recurrence is only 3-5 months without additional effective treatment. The disease is
widely recognized as one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of cancer.
TTF therapy, a novel platform technology for the treatment of solid tumors, provides physicians
with a fourth treatment modality for cancer in addition to surgery, radiation therapy and
chemotherapy.
TTF therapy has been shown in vitro and in vivo to effectively inhibit tumor growth by inducing
cell death. TTF takes advantage of the electrical characteristics, geometrical shape and
replication rate of dividing cancer cells – all of which makes them susceptible to the effects of
alternating electric fields. TTF therapy is delivered using non-invasive, insulated transducer
arrays that are placed directly on the skin in the region of the tumor. TTF therapy does not
deliver any electric current to the tissue; it does not stimulate nerves or muscles or heat the
tissue. It creates an artificial, alternating electric field within the tumor which disrupts cancer
cell division and can cause complete destruction of the dividing cancer cells.
About the NovoTTF-100A System
NovoTTF-100A System is a portable, non-invasive medical device designed for continuous use
throughout the day by the patient. The device has been shown in in vitro and in vivo studies to
slow and reverse tumor growth by inhibiting mitosis, the process by which cells divide and
replicate. The NovoTTF-100A device, which weighs about six pounds (three kilograms), creates
a low intensity, alternating electric field within the tumor that exerts physical forces on
electrically charged cellular components, preventing the normal mitotic process and causing
cancer cell death prior to division. In patients with recurrent glioblastoma brain tumors, the
device has shown clinical efficacy comparable to that of active chemotherapies with better
quality of life without many of the side effects of chemotherapy. The most commonly reported
side effect from NovoTTF treatment was a mild-to-moderate rash beneath the electrodes. The
NovoTTF-100A has received marketing approval in the U.S. and is a CE Marked device that is
cleared for sale in Europe.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the NovoTTF-100A System for use
as a treatment for adult patients (22 years of age or older) with histologically-confirmed
glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), following histologically – or radiologically-confirmed
recurrence in the supra-tentorial region of the brain after receiving chemotherapy. The device is
intended to be used as monotherapy, and is intended as an alternative to standard medical therapy
for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted.
Patients should only use the NovoTTF-100A System under the supervision of a physician
properly trained in use of the device.
About Novocure
Novocure Limited is a private oncology company pioneering a novel therapy for solid tumors.
Novocure’s worldwide headquarters is located in the Jersey Isle. Novocure’s U.S. operations are
based in Portsmouth, NH and the company’s research center is located in Haifa, Israel. For
additional information about the company, please visit www.novocure.com
Media contact:
Frank Leonard
frank@novocure.com
(215) 854-4095