24th October 2016
UAE expansion for Proton Partners
Proton Partners International, the company behind the UK’s first proton beam therapy centre in Newport, has agreed to buy a facility in Abu Dhabi as part of plans to expand its services into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The company has signed a sale-and-purchase agreement for the acquisition of the centre from Mediclinic Middle East and the Al Noor Hospitals Group, part of Mediclinic International.
It hopes to transform the Gulf International Cancer Centre into the country’s first proton beam therapy treatment centre.
Alongside The First Investor and the Al Sayer Group, Proton Partners will be joint investors in what will be known as the Abu Dhabi Proton Centre.
Mike Moran, chief executive of Proton Partners International, said: “There is a growing need for proton beam therapy treatment around the world and no centres currently offer this in the Middle East. The treatment is transforming the lives of many thousands of cancer patients. We are delighted that the acquisition of the Gulf International Cancer Centre means the creation of the first proton beam therapy centre in the United Arab Emirates is fast becoming a reality.”
David Hadley, chief executive of Mediclinic Middle East, added: “Although tertiary level, specialist services such as those provided by the Gulf International Cancer Centre form a key part of Mediclinic’s strategy, the facility in its current form duplicates services which will be provided by our Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Dubai and through our other main hospitals. Following their acquisition of the Gulf International Cancer Centre, we welcome the plans of Proton Partners International to introduce proton beam therapy to the UAE, an advanced treatment modality which will be a highly beneficial addition to the services available to cancer sufferers in the country.”
The Newport facility currently being built by Proton Partners is set to be the first of its kind in the UK, with the company also working on a similar scheme in Northumberland and planning a third centre for London.