Industry invests in university Chair

A new industry-sponsored Chair at The Australian National University (ANU), which will focus on research into localised cancer treatment, will see Sirtex Medical (ASX: SRX) commit up to $3m over three years to the position.

The Sirtex Chair will be held by Professor Ross Stephens, from the Department of Applied Mathematics, and the funding will support research conducted at the department led by Professor Stephens and Professor Tim Senden, Head of the Department.

The research will focus on new adaptions of Sirtex’s existing technology, which is a targeted radiation therapy for patients with inoperable liver cancer.

The aim is to create a biomedical technology that will stop the collateral damage of healthy cells in cancer patients by localising the radiation treatment at tumour sites.

“We’re trying to fashion an internal therapy that is highly localised and that also gives doctors flexibility in designing individual treatment plans.”

Professor Senden said that the Chair and its associated funding would enable a significant push in research that could have real potential for applications in areas of unmet medical need.

Sirtex Medical produces SIR-Spheres, microspheres that deliver targeted doses of radiation therapy directly to cancer cells in the liver.

Due to strong sales of the SIR-Spheres, the company recently reported a significant net profit for the 2012-2013 financial year.

Sirtex shares were trading at $12.63 at around 10 pm on Tuesday.