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“Ultrasound foundation speeds medical advances” is title of  an interview with Dr. Neal Kassell in today’s issue of C-ville Weekly. The article provides an excellent overview of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s history, mission and unique approach to venture philanthropy.  READ ARTICLE

ANDOVER, MA and LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — (Marketwire) — 08/07/12 — Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG) (AEX: PHI) and Celsion Corporation (NASDAQ: CLSN) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided clearance to initiate a clinical study supporting a joint development program for Celsion’s ThermoDox® combined with Philips’ Sonalleve MR-HIFU (MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound) technology for the palliation of painful metastases to the bone caused by lung, prostate or breast cancers. The companies expect to initiate a Phase 2 study in this indication in the second half of 2012. READ FULL PRESS RELEASE

Sarasota, Florida-based PanAm HIFU has opened a prostate cancer treatment site at Amerimed Hospital in Cancun, Mexico. The new site represents a partnership between PanAm and EDAP TMS SA, manufacturer of the Ablatherm-HIFU system, which is approved in Europe and generally recommended for patients with localized prostate cancer (stages T1-T2) who are not candidates for surgery or who prefer an alternative option, or for patients who failed radiotherapy treatment. The Cancun center is PanAm’s second offshore site; the first is in London, England. Medical Director Ronald E. Wheeler, MD, explained that PanAm’s new facility will satisfy increasing patient demand and serve as a HIFU technology training site for American physicians “in preparation for [Ablatherm’s] U.S. approval.” READ PRESS RELEASE

The Focused Ultrasound Foundation’s first designated Center of Excellence at the University of Virginia will be receiving an added $1.5 million for research over two years from the Commonwealth of Virginia. As a participant in the public-private partnership that created the UVA Center in 2009, the Commonwealth had previously provided $4 million in support. “The accomplishments of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Center over the past few years have placed the Commonwealth of Virginia on the cutting edge of medical innovation,” observes Delegate William J. Howell, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. “We want this momentum to continue and to ultimately equate to economic growth in Virginia and improved healthcare for our citizens and for people everywhere.” The multi-disciplinary UVA Center is recognized for its pioneering work in developing new ultrasound treatments for essential tremor and other brain conditions. It has been a hub for international collaborations and has attracted substantial philanthropic support and NIH funding. “We are grateful for this added funding from the Commonwealth. It will enable us to expand and speed up our most important research efforts,” noted UVA’s James Larner, MD, professor and chair of Radiation Oncology and director of the Focused Ultrasound Center. “Thousands of patients have expressed interest in participating in our clinical trials, so we know there are large unmet medical needs that our focused ultrasound research may help address.”