Following a court ruling challenging the South African patent for enzalutamide (held by the Regents of the University of California and licensed to Astellas Pharma), the original South African patent was declared invalid. This ruling paved the way for Eurolab to continue supplying enzalutamide to the local market as it has been doing since its launch in April 2024. Given the financial strain often associated with cancer treatment, we remain committed to providing high-quality, affordable oncology solutions to support better patient outcomes. This case represents a major victory for South African cancer patients.

About Eurolab (Pty) Ltd:

In 2011, the establishment of Eurolab marked a significant step towards diminishing the financial burdens associated with cancer care in South Africa. Our primary mission revolves around enhancing the accessibility and affordability of cancer care, catering to the needs of patients battling this disease. Through its progression, Eurolab has been able to expand and introduce innovation into South Africa’s cancer care environment offering diverse options for cancer treatment and recovery. Eurolab’s journey is far from over. We persistently delve into novel strategies aimed at introducing innovative products and initiatives into the South African landscape. Our unwavering commitment to maintaining a balance between cost-effectiveness and quality is what distinguishes us, ultimately making cancer treatment a more attainable reality for a wider segment of the South African population.

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The post South Africa now has one Gamma Knife machine first appeared on Eurolab.

Speaking ahead of International Brain Tumour Awareness Week which runs from 26 October to 2 November every year, Eurolab Group CEO, Lynne du Toit, says, “Gamma Knife machines are found in leading hospitals across the world. South Africa now has one machine, but too few people have access to it. We are working hard to fix this – building understanding amongst medical schemes about the benefits of radiosurgery treatment and talking to the public sector about how their patients can gain access to the Gamma Knife.”

Dr. Maurizio Zorio, a neurosurgeon at Milpark and one of the directors of Gamma Knife South Africa, says, “Our radiosurgery unit is a hub of excellence. We are dedicated to brain work. For patients, the treatment is easier, quicker and has fewer side effects than other older treatments.

“Radiosurgery first became widely accepted because of its success with metastatic tumors – tumors that develop in the brain due to cancer that has spread from other parts of the body. But the Gamma Knife treats many other brain conditions as well. Our unit here has treated approximately 30 different kinds of benign and malignant head pathologies since the Gamma Knife was installed.”

The patients treated to date are mostly from Johannesburg and surrounds but also from

Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Pretoria East where special terminals have been installed. In these remote centres, the patient’s medical teams do the planning for the Gamma Knife surgery and the patient then travels to Milpark where the Gamma Knife team conducts the radiosurgery.

The Gamma Knife is in fact not a knife and radiosurgery does not involve any incisions. It replaces the surgeon’s scalpel with up to 192 narrow beams of radiation, generated from radioactive cobalt and targeted to pre-determined designated areas in the brain.

It is non-invasive and does not harm the surrounding healthy tissue.

Radiosurgery is being used across the world to control malignant and non-malignant tumors, as well as vascular and functional disorders in the brain. Despite the surgery involving delicate brain tissue, patients are typically in and out of the hospital in a day or two. Treatment can also be done in an outpatient setting which means most patients can go home on the same day.

This game-changing machine is referred to as the gold standard of intracranial radiosurgery because of its perfect precision and good patient outcomes.

• Radiation oncologist at Milpark, Dr. Chris Jordaan, says, “As well as metastasis where we have achieved local control in 90% of cases, we have also had a lot of success with:
• Meningioma – a tumor that forms on membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord just inside the skull which is often not accessible with traditional surgery.
• Pituitary adenoma – a tumor that occurs in the pituitary gland which we can’t remove with traditional surgery. Here, the Gamma Knife also prevents regrowth in about 95% of patients. If the tumor secretes hormones, we can control this in about 70% of cases.
• Acoustic neuroma (or vestibular schwannoma) – a non-cancerous slow-growing tumor that develops on the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain which directly influences balance and hearing and can cause hearing loss. In the past, surgeons were reluctant to operate because of the risk of deafness, but the Gamma Knife has changed this.
• Trigeminal neuralgia – a chronic pain disorder that affects the trigeminal nerve. A high dose of radiotherapy directed right onto the nerve has achieved and sustained pain control in the majority of cases.

Jordaan adds that “We have also seen rarer tumours such as Glomus jugulare and Craniopharyngiomas where we have achieved a 90% control rate using the Gamma Knife. Malignant melanomas in the eye have also responded extremely well to radiosurgery.”

Dr Zorio explains that the Gamma Knife can also be used for functional neurosurgery to help patients with issues such as Parkinson’s disease and tremors. “In these instances, however, the three-person core team must expand to include a larger multidisciplinary team made up of a neurologist, a neuropsychiatrist and others. Conditions like epilepsy that have not responded to other treatment are also being considered for Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

“But, we have to be led by the science. We are not a clinical trial site, but a specialised treatment site. Other centres have big volumes of patients, are doing thousands of cases and are involved in clinical trials. We can only work on what has been proven by science.”

Dr Jordaan adds that worldwide, the epidemiology of these tumors remains poorly understood. “Data that Gamma Knife SA is collecting data will be used together with that obtained at other centres across the world to better understand brain cancers and diseases,” he says.

The first Gamma Knife was developed in 1967 by Lars Leksell, a Swedish physician and professor of neurosurgery. Today’s Gamma Knife is based on the original prototype but has benefited from more than 40 years of advancements in engineering, radiation physics, and computer imaging technology.

The team required for radiosurgery is made up of an experienced neurosurgeon, who works closely with a radiation oncologist specialising in therapeutic procedures involving radiant energy to control cancer, and a medical physicist or biophysicist. The physicist works with the doctors in dose delivery planning and also tests the Gamma Knife’s mechanical functions, verifies that the imaging and treatment planning computers are working and ensures the software is in order.  The Gamma Knife itself consists of the radiation unit, the beam-focusing technology, the patient couch, an electric bed system, the control console, the frame for the patient’s head and the planning computer system.

ENDS

The post Gamma Knife successes give hope to South Africans with brain diseases, cancers and abnormalities first appeared on Eurolab.

Steel is charged with setting up an international best practice facility for the mixing of chemotherapy and introducing innovative technology for better access to oncology care in South Africa. Making novel therapeutic medicines available, including Advanced Therapeutic Medicines (ATMs), forms part of his mandate at Eurolab.

Eurolab Group CEO Lynne Du Toit says, “Gavin has an in-depth understanding of the pharmaceutical sector in South Africa and internationally as well as considerable experience in health systems strengthening, clinical trials, making quality medicines more affordable and identifying emerging health technologies. He will be a valuable resource as Eurolab’s strategy to offer a whole-of-cancer solution from diagnosis through treatment gathers momentum.”

Steel’s career spans all aspects of healthcare regulation including pricing regulations, ethics and health technology assessments. He is also an experienced technical specialist in disciplines such as evidence-based medicine, medicines safety, clinical pharmacokinetics, pharmacoeconomics and adherence to long term therapies. 

In his previous role in the national Department of Health, Steel headed up sector-wide procurement and then human resources for health. He has served on and chaired a range of committees including the Pricing Committee, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, the Pharmacy Council, the Clinical Trials Committee and the National Central Drug Committee. He also chaired the HIV vaccine regulatory process and has served as a World Health Organisation advisor. 

As well as heading up Eurolab’s ASU, he will also provide strategic counsel to other areas of the Eurolab business. Du Toit says that, “Gavin was instrumental in establishing the package of care for oncology in South Africa – medicines and treatment protocols – during his time with the Department of Health.”

“Oncology medicines are usually prescribed according to the body surface area of the patient,” says Steel. “After filling an infusion bag for a patient, there is often oncology medicine left over. This residual dose is typically discarded. Given that some oncology treatments cost thousands of Rands per millilitre, we are now introducing international best practice mixing efficiencies allowing extra medicine to be pooled and used to treat more patients. 

“Innovation in the mixing of chemotherapy has been rapidly evolving in developed nations with countries like the United Kingdom now implementing the same mixing efficiencies that we will offer through the Eurolab ASU in their National Health Insurance system.

“The ASU also allows us to ensure complete sterility of the product, avoid medication errors and trace medicine across the supply chain to ensure quality – and patient care – is not compromised.”

Says Du Toit, “Having brought Gamma Knife radiosurgery technology for brain, head and neck tumours to South Africa through a partnership with Netcare’s Milpark Hospital in 2017, the Aseptic Services Unit represents another significant milestone for Eurolab in raising the bar for oncology care in South Africa.”  

ENDS 

Eurolab 

Eurolab is the largest generic oncology company in South Africa and one of the most innovative in cancer management, including treatment therapies and technologies. Founded in 2011, it began as a company supplying generic oncology medications but quickly grew to become one of South Africa’s most innovative oncology companies offering a range of products and services through four main channels: 

• Eurolab products (generic oncology medications)
• Gamma Knife SA (radiosurgery technology) and 
• Eurolab Aseptic Unit (ASU) (sterile mixing of cancer IV medicines and cGMP sterile manufacturing)
• Oncolab Cellular (gene sequencing machine/ diagnostic tool). 

The post New appointment at SA’s largest generic oncology company Making cancer treatment more affordable first appeared on Eurolab.