Annual Report 2020/21
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Annual Report 2020/21

2020/21 in brief

Net Sales

Ebita and Ebita Margin

Net Debt/Ebitda

Operational Highlights

The treatment optimizer Leksell Gamma Knife Lightning for the Leksell Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery system was launched in May 2020, reducing treatment planning time by up to 80 percent and beam-on time by up to 50 percent. It was hailed by customers as a “game changer”.

Elekta expanded its digital portfolio by acquiring Kaiku Health in May 2020. The Finnish company is best known for its app that monitors patient-reported outcomes and provides intelligent symptom tracking and management for healthcare providers in routine oncology and care studies.

Elekta Unity received clearance from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), clearing the technology for clinical use in China. Elekta Unity has followed strict clinical trials in top Chinese hospitals for nearly two years after its introduction, according to new NMPA guidelines.

Elekta launched its new high productivity Linac Harmony in September 2020. Elekta Harmony offers the perfect balance between efficiency and versatility without compromising on precision, making it a solution for both mature and developing markets.

Elekta has received the EU Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) certificate for its flagship linear accelerator (linac) portfolio. More than 4,000 Elekta linacs are currently clinical around the world, treating patients with a wide variety of cancers.

In November, 2020, Elekta introduced Elekta Studio with its launch of the ImagingRing, an advanced interventional CT system that enables clinicians to conduct the entire brachytherapy workflow without moving the patient from room to room. Elekta Studio is designed to radically simplify the 3D image-guided adaptive brachytherapy.

”Our mission at Elekta is to not just build technology; we build hope for everyone dealing with cancer.”
Gustaf Salford,
President and CEO
Read the full story
Gustaf Salford, President and CEO

Healthcare trends

As healthcare costs are projected to continue rising, healthcare systems are aligning economic incentives with quality of care and cost-efficiency. This benefits radiotherapy.

Trained healthcare staff are a scarce resource. Making the best use of their time by optimizing and automating workflows is increasingly important in low-income countries but also in high-income countries focusing on value-based healthcare.

Data-intensive fields like oncology and radiotherapy are well suited for digitalization, for example by using AI and big data analytics to automate, improve decision support and optimize workflows.

Improved on-board imaging, such as MRI, has enabled greater precision with lower-margin planning and adaptive treatment, making it possible to use radiotherapy for several cancer types.

Improved precision has also enabled hypofractionation, delivering the planned dose in fewer treatment sessions. This saves time for both clinics and patients.

The strategy – ACCESS 2025

Elekta’s strategy, ACCESS 2025, is built around four main strategic pillars that shall drive sustainable profitable growth and create the next generation treatment, workflows and customer engagment models.

The strategy and its enablers

Accelerate innovation with customer ­ utilization in mind

We will continue to invest in innovation, both in hardware and software, to keep driving the category of precision radiation medicine forward and to develop new solutions that help customers elevate standards of cancer care. We keep innovating with implementation in mind to drive faster adoption in the market while also advancing functionality.

Drive partner integration across the cancer care eco-system

We believe that cancer care is best elevated by bringing together the expertise across the entire network. We also believe that there is no one solution to fit all and customers will need tailored solutions to fit their needs. And as the only independent radiotherapy provider of scale, we have an important role to play to ensure interoperability so that our customers and their patients can enjoy best-of-breed solutions across the cancer care continuum.

Be the customer ­lifetime ­companion

We want to be the preferred and most trusted partner to our customers throughout the lifecycle of our solutions. It should be easy to be, and to become, an Elekta customer. We will therefore continue developing our service offering as well as new business models so we can build stronger relationships with our customers.

Drive adoption across the globe

To make sure that patients really do get access to the best cancer care, we will continue to drive market adoption. Initiatives under this focus area include both optimizing our local presence in each market and working with governments on, for example, reimbursement rates.

Mid-term outlook until 2024/2025

Elekta's outlook is based on an average 6–8% market
growth during the mid-term period.

Offering

Solutions ~60%

Service ~40%

How it works:

MOSAIQ Plaza

MOSAIQ Plaza is a comprehensive ecosystem of oncology informatics tools well-equipped to support multidisciplinary cancer care, enabling robust data access to all caregivers as well as:

  • digital patient engagement
  • data analytics
  • machine QA
  • treatment planning
  • voice automation
  • cancer registry
  • tumor board orchestrator
  • genetic tumor board
  • oncology pathways

The software suite integrates seamlessly with Elekta radiotherapy systems to deliver pathway-driven, value-based healthcare.

How it works:

Elekta Unity

Elekta Unity combines a diagnostic grade widebore 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner with a state-of-the-art linac, mounted on a slip ring gantry allowing 360 degrees rotation. MR images generated before, during and after treatment are used for plan adaption, and sparing healthy tissue while delivering a lethal dose to the target.

How it works:

Linac

The linear accelerator (linac) produces a beam of radiation that is actively shaped and aimed at the patient’s tumor with high precision and in accordance with a calculated, individually adapted treatment plan. Using alternating current voltage, the electrons accelerate to high speeds and are aimed at the target to deliver a significant dose of radiation to the tumor, with minimal impact to the surrounding healthy tissue. The linac also includes an integrated imaging system for visualization and positioning of the tumor target.

How it works:

After-loader with an applicator

A radioactive source, the size of a grain of rice, is temporarily placed inside or close to the tumor via an applicator at different predetermined positions for different times, delivering a carefully planned high dose very precisely. Treatment planning uses specially developed software and is done after the applicator has been inserted and an image has been acquired via CT or MRI. The radioactive source is stored and delivered through an afterloader that remotely steers the source in the patient’s body. The entire treatment is typically delivered in one to four fractions during one stay at the hospital, enabling the patient to go home the same day or the next.

How it works:

Leksell Gamma Knife

Stereotactic radiosurgery is specifically developed to inhibit neurological conditions. With Elekta’s Leksell Gamma Knife Icon, up to 192 low-intensity radiation beams converge with high accuracy on the target, delivering a powerful radiation dose. Target mass and shape determines the number of beams used. Advanced imaging and a system for motion control enables real-time adaptive treatment.

Our service offering plays an integral part in the value that Elekta and clinicians provide for patients, directly via maintenance and repairs that keep the machines going. With preventive maintenance, clinical downtime can be minimized, making it easier for clinicians to keep their schedules and treat more patients on time.

A sustainability agenda
to support our vision

Elekta’s vision is a world where everyone has access to the best cancer care. That is why our sustainability agenda is set on improving access to healthcare globally while operating a responsible and sustainable business.

Hope to experience more:
Lyn’s story

Lyn from Sydney, Australia, 72 years old and grandmother of six, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in early 2020. While doing research, she learned about the new MR-Linac Elekta Unity. That led her to GenesisCare’s St Vincent Clinic Sydney where she was prescribed 20 treatments over four weeks. She responded well and did not experience any significant side-effects as each treatment was adapted to the changing anatomy.

“As a person living with cancer, it’s difficult to talk about the future,” Lyn says. “But you can always have goals. My goal now is to watch my grandchildren grow up and continue to be part of their lives.”

Hope to experience more:
Serpil’s story

Having just bought a new house in England for her family of four, Serpil 38, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. With surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy ahead of her, Serpil returned to Istanbul where her mother would tend to her small children while she rested between treatments at the Memorial Bahçelievler Hospital, which is equipped with Elekta’s Versa HD.

“Well, the radiotherapy was fine, but chemotherapy was exhausting. I lost my hair and my daughter said: ‘Mommy, you look like a robot – I don’t like it,’” she says.

With the successful treatment behind her, the plan is to return to England and reunite with her husband in the family’s new house.

Hope to experience more:
Suryavathi’s story

Upon learning she had cervical cancer, Suryavathi, 39, immediately started to worry about the small family dairy business in Andhra Pradesh, India. What would happen to it if she could not work?

Her physician at the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre put her at ease and prescribed a combination treatment including brachytherapy, where a small radiation source is inserted into the body near or inside the tumor.

The treatment was a success and her message for women who find themselves in her position is one of hope: “There are treatments and you can be cured.”