Owner of Scripps Proton Therapy Center files for bankruptcy

California Proton Treatment Center, the San Diego-based investment group that owns Scripps Proton Therapy Center, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.

In its bankruptcy petition, CPTC listed its liabilities as greater than $100 million. According to documents filed with the court, the proton therapy center "has not operated on a profitable or even a break-even basis" since it opened in February 2014.

As CPTC restructures its debt, services at Scripps Proton Therapy Center will continue uninterrupted. San Diego-based Scripps Health, which operates the center but has no financial interest in it, will continue providing medical services at the center per the parties' contractual agreement.

"We've already informed our patients and employees that it is business as usual," Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder told Becker's Thursday. He said Scripps Health found out about CPTC filing for bankruptcy at the same time as the general public.

To fund the facility's operations during the restructuring process, CPTC has secured a $16 million short-term loan. CPTC will ask a bankruptcy judge to approve the loan at a hearing Friday.

"Our doors will remain open to administer highly specialized cancer therapies, and a patient ombudsman will ensure that our transition to a new organizational framework won't affect patients or staff," said Jette Campbell, chief restructuring officer at CPTC and a partner at Carl Marks Advisors.

The $220 million, 102,000-square-foot center has the capacity to treat up to 2,400 patients annually. Proton therapy is used to eliminate several cancers that historically have only been treated with surgery, chemotherapy and X-ray radiation.

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