Accuray's (ARAY) New Treatment Package to Boost Patient Outcome
Accuray Incorporated ARAY recently announced that it would showcase an important new option for improving the care of breast cancer patients in partnership with C-RAD AB. The U.S. unveiling of the new breast cancer treatment package for the Radixact System will be conducted at the upcoming ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
The new breast cancer treatment package for the Radixact System, whose name will be revealed during the unveiling at ASTRO, is not available for sale in the United States. It is yet to receive the FDA’s 510(k) approval and is not CE marked. The package’s availability is subject to regulatory clearance or approval in some markets.
The latest launch is expected to be a step forward for Accuray to strengthen its radiation therapy business on a global scale.
Significance of the Launch
Per the National Cancer Institute’s estimates shared by Accuray, besides skin cancers, breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. In rare cases, breast cancer can also occur in men. Breast cancer treatment represents over 20% of cases encountered by radiation oncology departments.
Accuray’s breast cancer treatment package has been designed to enable medical care teams to provide an integrated and automated Deep Inspiration Breath Hold solution using Surface Guided Radiation Therapy that delivers precise treatments that enhance safety and speed. With this capability, the Radixact System is now expected to offer a comprehensive toolset currently available in the industry by leveraging superior CT image quality from proprietary ClearRT imaging with the CT-linac capabilities of TomoHelical and TomoDirect deliveries in faster treatment time slots.
Per Accuray’s management, the new option for the Radixact System for treating a wide range of breast cancer patients will likely improve lives as this cancer remains a significant women's health issue. Management feels that early detection and more precise treatment technology can have a significant impact on extending and improving the quality of patients' lives.
C-RAD’s management believes that for breast cancer treatments, the seamless workflow allows deep inspiration treatment on the Radixact System to reduce the dose exposure to the heart, amongst other benefits.
Industry Prospects
Per a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global radiotherapy market is valued at $6.3 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach $8.1 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 5.1%. Factors like technological advancements in radiotherapy and the rising incidence of cancer are likely to drive the market.
Given the market potential, the latest launch is expected to provide a significant boost to Accuray’s business globally.
Recent Developments
This month, Accuray announced positive results of the PACE-B (Prostate Advances in Comparative Evidence) trial that were published in The Lancet Oncology. The trial indicates that two years after treatment, patients treated with the company's CyberKnife robotic radiotherapy platform have a lower incidence of late grade two or higher bladder toxicities, which are associated with prostate cancer stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatments, unlike with conventional linear accelerators.
Last month, Accuray announced that it is expanding its global footprint with the introduction of its CyberKnife platform in Africa, thereby increasing access to the extremely precise stereotactic radiosurgery and SBRT treatments the system delivers to more patients.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have lost 49.1% in the past year compared with the industry’s 33.4% decline and the S&P 500's 18.9% fall.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Currently, Accuray carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. AMN, ShockWave Medical, Inc. SWAV and McKesson Corporation MCK.
AMN Healthcare, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 3.2%. AMN’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 15.7%.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
AMN Healthcare has gained 20% compared with the industry’s 36.9% decline in the past year.
ShockWave Medical, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has an estimated growth rate of 33.5% for 2023. SWAV’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 180.1%.
ShockWave Medical has gained 41.9% against the industry’s 33.4% decline over the past year.
McKesson, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 10.1%. MCK’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, the average beat being 13%.
McKesson has gained 73.6% against the industry’s 13.8% decline over the past year.
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