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IsoRay Medical's Cesium-131 Brachytherapy Treatment Combined With External Beam Radiation Therapy for the First Time at the Arnold Palmer Prostate Center at Eisenhower Medical Center

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 09:00 CST

The Arnold Palmer Prostate Center at Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center in Palm Springs, CA has introduced a combined therapy using IsoRay Medical, Inc.'s FDA-approved Cesium-131 isotope seeds and External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBT). It marks the world's first dual therapy combining Cesium-131 brachytherapy with EBT.

"This is an important step as the use of Cesium-131 expands," said Roger Girard, chairman and CEO of Richland, Washington-based IsoRay, Inc. (OTCBB:ISRY). "This is a powerful, but very targeted, approach to dealing with prostate cancer. We believe this dual therapy offers prostate cancer patients and their physicians an attractive alternative for treatment as the short half-life of Cesium-131 may allow the completion of the combined therapy in a shorter period of time."

In seed brachytherapy, radioactive seeds are implanted directly into the prostate gland during a procedure that is fast and convenient, allowing patients to typically return to normal daily activities within two to three days.

"We are proud to offer the newest combination of treatments for prostate cancer," says John Stevenson, MD, Medical Director, Arnold Palmer Prostate Center. "Cesium-131 and the on-site use of IsoStrand technology has changed the face of brachytherapy, and combined with EBT, we know we are offering men with prostate cancer the best, most effective treatment options for their condition and quality of life."

Among the many options available to men with prostate cancer, the combination of EBT with Cesium-131 has been used to offer radiation treatment to the prostate gland as part of the overall treatment of prostate cancer with a focus on effective and convenient treatment. EBT uses state-of-the-art linear accelerators to deliver radiation to a specified location -- in this case, the prostate gland -- to stop the growth and reproduction of cancer cells.

IsoRay Medical, the world's only manufacturer and distributor of Cesium-131 isotope seeds, recently announced the expansion of its production capabilities with the opening of a new facility in Richland. The new production line -- with custom packaging capabilities -- is expected to increase seed output and enhance delivery systems offered by the company, a wholly owned subsidiary of IsoRay, Inc, a public company.

Management has indicated that the new production facility will give IsoRay Medical the capacity (assuming a significant increase in staffing and availability of a sufficient amount of Cesium-131 for manufacturing) to manufacture up to 60,000 radioactive "seeds" per month, serving the needs of approximately 600 patients. This represents a ten-fold increase over IsoRay's current production capability.

IsoRay Medical received Food & Drug Administration approval to market its proprietary Cesium-131 seed for the treatment of prostate cancer and other malignancies in March 2003.

The first Cesium-131 implant was performed in October 2004 at the University of Washington Medical Center and since that time, leading cancer treatment hospitals and clinics across the United States have begun providing this new isotope to their prostate cancer patients.

About IsoRay

IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary, IsoRay Medical, Inc., is the sole producer of the Cesium-131 brachytherapy seed, used to treat prostate and other cancers. The Cesium-131 seed offers a significantly shorter half-life than the two other isotopes commonly used for brachytherapy, which results in a substantially faster delivery of therapeutic radiation, lower probability of cancer cell survival, and reduction of the longevity of side effects. IsoRay is based in Richland, Washington. More information is available about IsoRay at www.isoray.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this news release about IsoRay's future expectations, including: the advantages of our Cesium131seed, our manufacturing capabilities, and all other statements in this release, other than historical facts, are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that actual results and ultimate corporate actions could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements based on such factors as physician acceptance, training and use of our products, our ability to successfully manufacture, market and sell our products, our ability to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities to meet demand within required delivery time periods while meeting our quality control standards, and our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in IsoRay's reports filed with the SEC.

Source: Business Wire

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