ELEKTA WINS MAJOR ONCOLOGY CONTRACT WITH LEADING GPO
Premier chooses Elekta for three-year oncology agreement
Premier Purchasing Partners, L.L.P., the group purchasing division of
Premier, Inc., has entered into a three-year contract with Elekta for
radiation oncology solutions for its member hospital and clinic groups.
The contract with Elekta goes into effect September 1, 2004.
One of the nation's largest group purchasing organizations, Premier is a
healthcare alliance enterprise collectively owned by more than 200
independent hospitals and health systems in the U.S., which operate or
are affiliated with approximately 1,500 local hospitals and hundreds of
other healthcare sites.
"With the pressure on hospitals to provide leading-edge technology that
is also cost-effective over time, we felt that Elekta would solve both
of those needs," said Jack Cox, M.D., chief medical officer and group
vice president, product planning for Premier Purchasing Partners.
"Elekta clearly demonstrated a desire to address our complete needs;
clinical, technical and business. We believe the Elekta radiation
oncology solutions will help us to achieve greater operational and
clinical effectiveness."
"Premier has very strict selection guidelines for technical and supplier
contracts, requiring extensive evaluation by committees and clinicians,"
explained Jan Kenoyer, Director, National & Strategic Alliances for
Elekta North America. "What it came down to was Elekta's technology
leadership as well as a demonstrated desire to understand and address
the clinical, technical and financial needs across the entire Premier
membership."
The contract for Elekta's oncology product lines encompasses the
company's complete product line of linear accelerators with IMRT,
advanced X-ray Volume Imaging systems and exclusive Elekta accessories
and options. Elekta's most recently announced products for Image-Guided
Radiation Therapy (IGRT) are a major part of the agreement and the
contract covers Elekta's ground breaking IGRT platform, Elekta Synergy®,
the first radiation treatment machine with an integrated imaging system.
In addition, Premier members will have access to Elekta Synergy® S
(currently a works in progress), the extracranial stereotactic version
of Elekta Synergy®.
"This three-year contract is very important and is a confirmation that
Elekta is not only a leader in radiation oncology, but also a business
partner who understands what is important to our healthcare provider
partners," said Peter J. Gaccione, Vice President, Oncology at Elekta
North America.