Dutch healthcare and consumer good maker Royal Philips Electronics NV (PHG, PHGFF.PK) Monday announced a partnership with Russian State Atomic Energy Corp. or ROSATOM to develop a nuclear medicine industry ecosystem in Russia.
The partnership is seen as a major step towards enabling better healthcare in Russia as nuclear medicine is an important medical imaging technique used to diagnose and stage cancer.
As per the Memorandum of Understanding, ROSATOM and Philips plan to manufacture three imaging modalities in nuclear medicine in Russia: SPECT (Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography), SPECT/CT (SPECT combined with X-ray Computed Tomography) and PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography combined with CT).
Commenting on the partnership, Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare, stated, "Positron Emission Tomography is the most sensitive molecular imaging technique and has the potential to visualize cancer in a very early stage, even before structural changes can be seen on CT and MRI images. Its use in Russia, enabled by the Philips-Rosatom partnership, will help to significantly reduce public funding for costly cancer treatment."
Currently, an estimated 81 percent of Russia's medical equipment is produced outside Russia. The partnership will reduce Russia's dependency on other countries for the supply of this type of equipment. The companies intend to offer the scanners to Russia and CIS markets under joint branding.
Further, Philips said that they will cooperate in R&D including clinical trials, the development of a local component manufacturing base and the future upgrade of joint products. Philips also plans to license its engineering expertise for the production and maintenance of medical devices to ROSATOM.
In addition, Philips would provide in-depth training to Russian engineers employed at R&D and production sites. Meanwhile, ROSATOM intends to provide the partnership with infrastructure, production facilities and oversight of the production process. The company's healthcare activities will be organized in a dedicated healthcare part of the business.
PHG closed Friday's trading at $25.53, up $0.36 or 1.43 percent, on a volume of 1.28 million shares.
PHGFF.PK ended trading at $25 on June 15.
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