Accuray's CyberKnife at the ESTRO - Analyst Blog

Leading radiosurgery systems maker Accuray Incorporated (ARAY) has featured its CyberKnife VSI system at the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO) meet in Barcelona. The company showcased multiple presentations, which underscore the system's unique motion management capabilities in treating lung cancer.
 
The CyberKnife VSI robotic radiosurgery system offers the latest advancements in Accuray's proprietary CyberKnife technology. Clinical findings from two CyberKnife sites in Europe were presented during a symposium on motion management in lung radiosurgery at the ESTRO. The presentations highlighted the benefits of the CyberKnife system in treating primary early-stage and metastatic lung cancer.
 
A key showpiece in the company's exhibits at the ESTRO was the CyberKnife system's best-in-class motion management capabilities, including the revolutionary Synchrony Respiratory Tracking System, which enables real-time monitoring and correction for tumors that move with a patient's breathing patterns. Accuray also demonstrated the expansion of extracranial (outside the skull) radiosurgery applications with CyberKnife through a number of oral and poster presentations on multiple cancer types.
 
The CyberKnife system boasts a technology that differentiates it from traditional treatments. It is a non-invasive alternative to traditional surgery and is the first and only commercially available intelligent robotic radiosurgery system designed to treat solid tumors anywhere in the body. Patients can be treated with CyberKnife without anesthesia and without the risks and complications inherent in traditional surgery.
 
CyberKnife systems continue to gain significant traction in the global medical communities, thereby boosting Accuray's sales. Demand for the system remains strong as evidenced by roughly 15% year-over-year growth in patients treated globally in fiscal 2010 (ended June 30). Accuray installed 10 new systems in fourth-quarter fiscal 2010, taking the aggregate global installed base to 206 units.
 
Accuray recently collaborated with Siemens (SI), under which, the latter acquired the rights to sell CyberKnife systems globally. Moreover, the company received Japanese regulatory clearance in August 2010 to market its CyberKnife G4 systems for non-invasive treatment of all tumor types.
 
California-based Accuray is a global leader in the field of radiosurgery and provides a non-surgical treatment option for patients diagnosed with cancer. In the radiation oncology market, the company competes head-to-head with Varian Medical (VAR) and TomoTherapy (TOMO), which are also showcasing their respective radiation therapies at the ESTRO.
 
Accuray has released a conservative guidance for fiscal 2011 with a sizable sales deficit, which is expected to hinder revenue and profit growth for the year. Currently, we have a Neutral recommendation on the stock.

 
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