Elekta has acquired its Turkish neurosurgery solutions distributor, Özyürek Mümessillik ve Dış Ticaret A.Ş., to expand its stake in the region's market and boost its relationship with providers there.

The deal is primarily centered around the sale of Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, which is designed to perform single or fractionated frame-based or frameless treatments.

“There is a huge unmet demand in the Turkish market regarding brain cancer and disorders that needs to be addressed,” Habib Nehme, executive vice president for Turkey, India, Middle East, Africa, APAC and Japan at Elekta, told HCB News. "Through its private sector, Turkey has a developed a market for medical tourism of, for example, radiosurgery and oncology, and has a constant flow of patients coming from the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Europe."

Following the deal, Elekta plans to ensure its deployed base of Leksell Gamma Knife systems are used whenever they can be to treat benign brain disorders, malignant disorders, functional cases and other brain-related conditions. Turkey ranks 12th globally among countries with the most cases of brain and central nervous system cancers, experiencing 6,102 new cases per year that result in 5,070 deaths annually and a five-year prevalence of 17,034.

Elekta previously acquired its linac and brachytherapy partners in Turkey back in 2014. This cemented its place in the radiation oncology market, with the neurosurgery division as the only business not under the direct portfolio. The purchase of Özyürek A.Ş., which has served since 1991 as Elekta’s distributor and representative for neuro solutions in Turkey, fills this gap.

“By offering Gamma Knife directly to customers, Elekta will be more competitive in providing comprehensive neuro and stereotactic body surgery solutions with highest precision to the C-suite decision makers and the premium segment of the market," said Nehme. "We expect that the Gamma Knife footprint in the premium hospital segment will open the door to Elekta to introduce additional solutions.”

Employees from Özyürek A.Ş. will join approximately 70 colleagues working in Elekta’s offices in Turkey.

Back in June, Elekta partnered with Philips to enhance and personalize treatment around its precision oncology solutions. Specifically, the two plan to create integrated vendor-agnostic solutions that boost interoperability between each one’s systems and software, with the end result being to drive precision in oncology.

The same month, it secured FDA clearance for its Harmony radiation therapy system, which is designed to treat a range of indications with the latest radiotherapy techniques, including hypofractionation for malignancies of the prostate, breast, and lung cancers.

Elekta declined to discuss financial details around the deal with Özyürek A.Ş.

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