Rutherford Health

Rutherford Health was a private oncology provider founded by Mike Moran and Karol Sikora in 2015, with investment from Neil Woodford and the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund, to develop proton therapy facilities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Until 2019 it was known as Proton Partners International.[1]

It went into liquidation in June 2022.[2][3] According to major shareholder Schroders UK Public Private Trust, the company had pursued a "flawed expansion strategy ... from 2015 to 2019" leading to "a high and unsustainable cash burn".[4][5][6]

Proton therapy

Rutherford Health ran proton therapy centres in Newport, Wales, Bedlington, Northumberland, Liverpool and Reading, Berkshire. Equipment and services were provided by Ion Beam Applications,[7][8] Philips and Elekta. The Newport site was the first to open with construction starting in 2016.[9] The Reading site cost £30 million and work began in December 2016,[10] before opening in October 2018.[11] The Bedlington site was opened in 2018.[12]

Funding included £10 million from the Wales Life Sciences Investmunt Fund in 2016,[13] as well as continued investment of over £100 million through fund manager Neil Woodford.[14] The Wales Audit Office criticised handling of the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund due to Woodford being the company's main shareholder.[15] Proton Partners secured £30 million from Shawbrook Bank in January 2016 which it later repaid in full in 2019. [16] The Northumberland site benefited from a grant of £450,000 from the Let’s Grow regional growth fund programme.[17]

In November 2016 Proton Partners purchased the Gulf International Cancer Centre in Abu Dhabi as part of plans to create the first proton beam therapy treatment centre in the United Arab Emirates.[18] Work began in 2019.[19]

In March 2017, the company announced the development of its fourth UK centre to be built by Interserve on the Knowledge Quarter site in Liverpool The centre was completed in 2020 and is now fully operational.[20] In 2018 it was announced that work had started on a headquarters for their Rutherford Diagnostics subsidiary. The building was to serve as a research centre, sited next to their Liverpool cancer treatment centre.[21]

Other activities

Proton Partners International incorporated five companies in total, including Rutherford Estates, Rutherford Innovations and Rutherford Diagnostics. In July 2020, the Company launched a membership scheme, "Rutherford Direct" aimed at providing a "cancer only plan" to companies and individuals as an insurance in case of a cancer diagnosis.

In June 2020, Rutherford Health partnered with Panthera Biopartners to set up a network of clinical trial sites. Under the name "Panthera@theRutherford", clinical oncology trials were to be undertaken at Rutherford sites, utilising Panthera's "clinical trial management experience".[22][23]

In September 2021 Michael Richards opened the first community diagnostic centre in England, on the outskirts of Taunton, to be operated by Rutherford Health in partnership with Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.[24] The trust was to pay a "tariff price" for the service and was reimbursed for the use of its staff.[25]

See also

References
  1. "Rutherford Health PLC - Overview". Companies House. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. Wise, Jacqui (6 June 2022). "Private cancer provider collapses despite drive to tackle NHS backlog". BMJ. pp. o1401. doi:10.1136/bmj.o1401.
  3. "Staff "devastated" after Rutherford Health liquidation". Society of Radiographers. 6 June 2022.
  4. "Rutherford Health preparation to wind-up". Association of Investment Companies. Schroder UK Public Private Trust. 6 June 2022.
  5. Carding, Nick (6 June 2022). "Cancer provider collapses despite NHS catch-up drive". Health Service Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  6. Kilgannon, Laurence (6 June 2022). "Rutherford Health makes preparations to wind-up". Insider Media.
  7. "BRIEF-Ion Beam Applications signs two contracts with Proton Partners International". Reuters. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  8. "Proton Partners acquires Blue Phantom2 data acquisition system to support innovative cancer treatment". News medical. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  9. "Construction begins on UK's first proton beam therapy cancer treatment centre". Wales on line. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  10. "GRAHAM Construction starts work on £30m cancer centre in Reading". Builder and Engineer. 16 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  11. "Reading: Cancer treatment centre opens at Thames Valley Science Park". The Business Magazine. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  12. "Cancer-therapy centre opens in Northumberland". Northumberland Gazette. 21 August 2018.
  13. Barry, Sion (6 April 2015). "£10m Welsh Government backing for UK's first proton beam centres". WalesOnline.
  14. Powell, Jamie (4 July 2019). "Proton Partners and Woodford: a valuation puzzle". FT Alphaville. Financial Times.
  15. Davies, Paul (25 June 2019). "Plenary". Record of Proceedings. Welsh Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. "Neil Woodford-backed Proton Partners International receives £30m loan from Shawbrook bank to fund development of three proton therapy centres". City AM. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  17. "Cancer treatment centre in Northumberland backed with grant from Journal's Let's Grow fund". Chronicle Live. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  18. "PROTON THERAPY CENTRE FOR ABU DHABI". International medical Travel Journal. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  19. Harley, Nicky (5 June 2019). "Cancer centre not affected by investment fund's woes". The National.
  20. Houghton, Alistair (15 March 2017). "New £35m cancer centre will offer life saving proton beam therapy". liverpoolecho. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  21. Houghton, Alistair (19 October 2018). "Watch amazing fly-through video of BILLION-pound Paddington Village". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  22. Spinner, Jenni (13 July 2020). "Panthera, Rutherford Health launch oncology trial network". Outsourcing-Pharma.
  23. Nolan, Laura (28 October 2021). "Middlesbrough man first to trial new cancer drug". The Northern Echo.
  24. Jones, Jamie (1 October 2021). "New state-of-the-art diagnostic centre opens in Taunton". Somerset County Gazette.
  25. "Trust says 'game-changing' deal will expand capacity by 25pc". Health Service Journal. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
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