Hayward Company Says It May Be On The Verge Of Cancer Treatment Breakthrough
HAYWARD (KPIX 5) -- Hayward company Reflexion says it's on the verge of getting federal approval for what it believes will be a groundbreaking new treatment for late-stage cancers.
"We have the potential of escalating the dose to cancerous tissue so we can destroy it more effectively and efficiently while sparing healthy surrounding tissue. But more importantly, we can extend the benefit of radiation therapy to late-stage cancer-- to cancer which has spread," said Reflexion CEO Todd Powell.
Convention targeted radiation therapy has typically not been a treatment option for patients whose cancer has spread to multiple locations in the body.
Reflexion has created new technology which combines real-time PET scans that pinpoint the location of cancerous cells with targeted radiation therapy. Powell says it's analogous to using a spotter on the ground to help a fighter pilot decide where to drop a bomb.
"She was really loved by all and she had stomach cancer," Reflexion founder Samuel Mazin said, describing the death of his aunt from cancer when she was 36 and he was 18.
The company held a grand opening ceremony for its new corporate headquarters and manufacturing plant in Hayward on Wednesday afternoon.
The company say they hope to have FDA approval by the end of the year and begin manufacturing and shipping the new product in early 2020.
"We've all lost people to this disease. And the idea that that might not have to happen so much in the future, it's beyond being happy that a new business is opening. They're doing something for all of humanity," said Hayward Mayor Barbara Halliday.
