Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Singapore – Royal Philips, one of the global leaders in health technology, and the Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings (SAM) announced a collaboration with Varian Medical Systems and IBA Worldwide to build the new Advanced Medicine Oncology Centre based at Biopolis, the international biomedical research hub in Singapore. The oncology center will provide world-class imaging, treatment delivery and clinical informatics technologies with the intent to comprehensively address the region’s fast-growing number of people confronted with cancer. SAM is driving the collaboration by investing up to SGD 100 million (approximately USD 72 million) towards the development of a center of excellence for oncology in the Southeast Asia region.

The new research, training and treatment center will provide cutting-edge oncology solutions for use by healthcare professionals and researchers. Projected to open in stages from 2018 onwards, the center will also aim to provide a platform for professional training to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry. Through research, clinical trials and development of leading cancer treatment therapies, the Advanced Medicine Oncology Centre will house new innovations and treatment protocols developed via a multi-disciplinary approach for better and more personalized patient care, potentially improved outcomes and a better on-going quality of life for patients.

"The new Advanced Medicine Oncology Centre aligns with the founding goal of the Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings to provide earlier detection and first-time-right diagnosis of cancer as well as safer, more cost effective treatment by advancing care enabled through research, technology and education," said Dr. Djeng Shih Kien, Founder and Chairman, Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings. "I am proud to be leading this milestone with our partners, marking a step forward in the treatment of cancer, which affects much of humanity."

The Advanced Medicine Oncology Centre will house a range of Philips’ advanced diagnostic imaging systems and clinical informatics. In addition to Philips’ Ingenia MR and IQon spectral CT systems, the center will have two of Philips’ Vereos PET/CT scanners, the world’s first and only fully digital PET/CT systems. Vereos uses Philips’ proprietary Digital Photon Counting (DPC) technology resulting in improved detectability and characterization of small lesions.