Rutherford Health Explained

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rutherford Health PLC - Overview . Companies House . 11 June 2020 . en.
  2. News: Wise . Jacqui . Private cancer provider collapses despite drive to tackle NHS backlog . BMJ . 6 June 2022 . o1401 . 10.1136/bmj.o1401.
  3. Web site: Staff "devastated" after Rutherford Health liquidation . . English . 6 June 2022.
  4. Web site: Rutherford Health preparation to wind-up . Schroder UK Public Private Trust . 6 June 2022 . . en.
  5. News: Cancer provider collapses despite NHS catch-up drive . 7 June 2022 . Health Service Journal . 6 June 2022. subscription. Carding. Nick.
  6. News: Kilgannon . Laurence . Rutherford Health makes preparations to wind-up . Insider Media . 6 June 2022 . en.
  7. News: BRIEF-Ion Beam Applications signs two contracts with Proton Partners International. 24 December 2016. Reuters. 13 December 2016.
  8. News: Proton Partners acquires Blue Phantom2 data acquisition system to support innovative cancer treatment. 24 December 2016. News medical. 9 December 2016.
  9. News: Construction begins on UK's first proton beam therapy cancer treatment centre. 24 December 2016. Wales on line. 18 January 2016.
  10. News: GRAHAM Construction starts work on £30m cancer centre in Reading. 24 December 2016. Builder and Engineer. 16 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161224095202/http://www.builderandengineer.co.uk/news/graham-construction-starts-work-%C2%A330m-cancer-centre-reading#. 2016-12-24. dead.
  11. Web site: Reading: Cancer treatment centre opens at Thames Valley Science Park . The Business Magazine . 19 October 2018 . 3 October 2018.
  12. News: Cancer-therapy centre opens in Northumberland . Northumberland Gazette . 21 August 2018 . en.
  13. News: Barry . Sion . £10m Welsh Government backing for UK's first proton beam centres . WalesOnline . 6 April 2015.
  14. News: Powell . Jamie . Proton Partners and Woodford: a valuation puzzle . FT Alphaville . Financial Times . 4 July 2019.
  15. Web site: Davies . Paul . Plenary . Record of Proceedings . . 27 April 2021 . en . 25 June 2019. Paul Davies (politician).
  16. News: Neil Woodford-backed Proton Partners International receives £30m loan from Shawbrook bank to fund development of three proton therapy centres. 24 December 2016. City AM. 6 January 2016.
  17. News: Cancer treatment centre in Northumberland backed with grant from Journal's Let's Grow fund. 24 December 2016. Chronicle Live. 18 July 2016.
  18. News: PROTON THERAPY CENTRE FOR ABU DHABI. 24 December 2016. International medical Travel Journal. 25 November 2016.
  19. News: Harley . Nicky . Cancer centre not affected by investment fund's woes . The National . 5 June 2019 . en.
  20. Web site: Houghton . Alistair . New £35m cancer centre will offer life saving proton beam therapy . liverpoolecho . 19 October 2018 . 15 March 2017.
  21. Web site: Houghton . Alistair . Watch amazing fly-through video of BILLION-pound Paddington Village . Liverpool Echo . 19 October 2018 . 19 October 2018.
  22. News: Spinner . Jenni . Panthera, Rutherford Health launch oncology trial network . Outsourcing-Pharma . 13 July 2020.
  23. News: Nolan . Laura . Middlesbrough man first to trial new cancer drug . The Northern Echo . 28 October 2021 . en.
  24. News: Jones . Jamie . New state-of-the-art diagnostic centre opens in Taunton . Somerset County Gazette . 1 October 2021 . en.
  25. News: Trust says 'game-changing' deal will expand capacity by 25pc . 9 October 2021 . Health Service Journal . 8 October 2021.

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