IBA to install first gantry proton therapy centre in central Italy
IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) has signed a contract with the Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri and the Istituto Nazionale Tumori Regina Elena (IFO) in Rome to install a Proteus ONE proton therapy system, the companies announced on 29 September 2026. The agreement marks the first gantry-based proton therapy facility to be established in central or southern Italy, with IFO expecting to begin treating patients in 2030.
The deal follows a formal public tender process in which IBA and Italian construction partners Cecchini SRL and Gowen SRL were selected as the delivery consortium. The contract covers the full scope of a turnkey solution: system supply, design, build, installation, a comprehensive training and education programme, and a one-year operation and maintenance agreement. IFO said the facility will serve both paediatric and adult oncology patients.
The deal
IBA's Proteus ONE is the company's compact, single-room gantry-based system and is the most widely deployed configuration in its proton therapy portfolio. The system is designed to treat a broad range of clinical indications, offering what IBA describes as high clinical versatility in a smaller facility footprint than traditional multi-room installations. The typical end-user price of a Proteus ONE system with a multiyear maintenance contract ranges between EUR 35 million and EUR 45 million, according to the company.
Henri de Romrée, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of IBA, said the partnership with IFO would "broaden access to advanced cancer care and support the treatment of a wide range of clinical indications" in a region that has until now had no access to gantry-based proton therapy.
Giuseppe Navanteri, Chief Clinical Engineering and Technology Officer at IFO, said that the choice of a gantry-based solution reflected the hospital's view that clinical versatility was essential to maximising patient benefit in the region.
Market context
The Italian proton therapy market has historically been concentrated in northern Italy, where facilities in Trento and Pavia have operated for over a decade. The southern half of the peninsula has remained underserved relative to peer European markets, a gap that national health planners and oncology advocacy groups have flagged repeatedly. This contract directly addresses that geographic imbalance.
Across Europe, proton therapy capacity is expanding steadily. The technology offers a dosimetric advantage over conventional photon-based radiotherapy by depositing the bulk of its energy at the tumour site and sparing surrounding healthy tissue, a property particularly relevant in paediatric oncology where minimising radiation exposure to developing organs is a priority. Demand from public hospital systems and academic cancer centres has underpinned a pipeline of new installations in the UK, France, the Netherlands, and now Italy.
IBA faces competition from Varian (part of Siemens Healthineers) and ProTom International in the compact single-room segment, and from Hitachi and Sumitomo in larger multi-room configurations. The company's position as the highest-volume installed-base operator gives it a service and clinical-data advantage that is meaningful in public tender evaluations, where long-term operational track record is typically weighted alongside capital cost.
IBA is listed on Euronext Brussels and employs approximately 2,300 people worldwide. The company is also a certified B Corporation, reflecting a stated commitment to social and environmental performance standards.