Akumin and Profound Medical Enter into U.S. Multi-Center Commercial Agreement for TULSA-PRO®

PLANTATION, Fla., May 6, 2021 /CNW/ - Akumin Inc. (NASDAQ: AKU) (TSX: AKU) ("Akumin"), a leading provider of freestanding, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services in the United States, today announced the signing of a multi-site imaging center agreement for TULSA-PRO^® with Profound Medical Corp. (NASDAQ: PROF) (TSX: PRN) ("Profound" or the "Company"), a commercial-stage medical device company that develops and markets customizable, incision-free therapies for the ablation of diseased tissue.

Pursuant to the agreement, Profound expects to install TULSA-PRO^® systems at up to 10 Akumin centers to be outfitted with diagnostic and therapeutic imaging services specifically dedicated towards men's health. All of these TULSA-PRO^® systems will be placed under Profound's per procedure business model. The initial geographic focus of the relationship will be in the State of Florida, with Texas and Pennsylvania expected to follow. Based upon the success of the first 10 installations, the two companies hope to expand their relationship in the future to include additional Akumin men's health centers.

"Akumin is introducing a new service offering with centers focused on men's health. In collaboration with urologists and using a consumer-centric approach, Akumin's goal is to redefine the delivery of prostate care through diagnostic imaging, minimally invasive treatment, and post-treatment monitoring," said Riadh Zine, President and Chief Executive Officer of Akumin. "TULSA-PRO^® is a customizable and incision-free prostate disease treatment system that minimizes the impact on men's functional abilities and provides the highest quality of life after treatment. We are excited to partner with Profound to offer this revolutionary technology to our physicians and patients."

"We believe that Akumin will be a particularly strong partner for us given its strategy to become a leading full-service provider of men's health and its geographic density in Florida, one of the largest markets for prostate care in the country," commented Arun Menawat, Profound's CEO and Chairman. "With respect to timing, we currently expect the first Akumin TULSA-PRO^® site to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2021." 

About Profound Medical Corp.

Profound is a commercial-stage medical device company that develops and markets customizable, incision-free therapies for the ablation of diseased tissue.

Profound is commercializing TULSA-PRO^®, a technology that combines real-time MRI, robotically-driven transurethral ultrasound and closed-loop temperature feedback control. TULSA-PRO^® is designed to provide customizable and predictable radiation-free ablation of a surgeon-defined prostate volume while actively protecting the urethra and rectum to help preserve the patient's natural functional abilities. TULSA-PRO^® has the potential to be a flexible technology in customizable prostate ablation, including intermediate stage cancer, localized radio-recurrent cancer, retention and hematuria palliation in locally advanced prostate cancer, and the transition zone in large volume benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). TULSA-PRO^® is CE marked, Health Canada approved, and 510(k) cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").

Profound is also commercializing Sonalleve^®, an innovative therapeutic platform that is CE marked for the treatment of uterine fibroids and palliative pain treatment of bone metastases. Sonalleve^® has also been approved by the China National Medical Products Administration for the non-invasive treatment of uterine fibroids and has FDA approval under a Humanitarian Device Exemption for the treatment of osteoid osteoma. The Company is in the early stages of exploring additional potential treatment markets for Sonalleve^® where the technology has been shown to have clinical application, such as non-invasive ablation of abdominal cancers and hyperthermia for cancer therapy.

About Akumin Inc.

Akumin is a leading provider of freestanding, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services in the United States with a network of owned and/or operated imaging centers located in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas and Georgia.  By combining our clinical expertise with the latest advances in technology and information systems, our centers provide physicians with imaging capabilities to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders and may reduce unnecessary invasive procedures, minimizing the cost and amount of care for patients. Our imaging procedures include MRI, CT, positron emission tomography (PET), ultrasound, diagnostic radiology (X-ray), mammography, and other interventional procedures.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this press release constitutes forward-looking information.  In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Akumin as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2021, which is available at www.sedar.com  and www.sec.gov. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Akumin; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct.  The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Akumin expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Akumin Inc.

R. Jeffrey White, Investor Relations, 1-866-640-5222, [email protected]