The UAB Proton Center will close in December.

In a statement, a UAB spokesperson said the center will close due to center partner Proton International’s “inability to make payments to bondholders, equipment finance companies and other vendors.”

“While UAB will continue to offer extensive treatment options for cancer patients, we are working with Proton International of Alabama – as manager of Proton International at UAB – to wind down operations and close the proton center,” the statement reads.

A spokesperson for Proton International said it is “disappointed” that the center will no longer be accepting new patients.

“This is unfortunate news for us, for the state of Alabama, for the broader proton community and most of all patient healthcare,” a statement read. “For the patients (and their families) who may be impacted by the closure, Proton International will continue to assist in any way possible to champion access to this life-saving technology at other facilities, including affiliated facilities in Florida and Arkansas.”

Patients with questions may contact the company at [email protected].

UAB announced the $50 million center in 2017. It opened in 2020. The facility and machinery inside are owned by Proton International, but UAB operates the center.

The center was described at its opening as the first of its kind in Alabama, housing a 90-ton, $25 million proton cyclotron—a machine used to shoot a proton beam directly at tumors—for radiation. Unlike X-Ray radiation, proton radiation does not damage tissues and organs surrounding the tumor and is especially useful in treating children.

According to UAB, only about 2% of its cancer patients were treated with proton therapy this year.

“We have ensured that all current patients will be able to receive the care they were promised and complete their treatments by the first week of December, and we are offering alternative treatment plans for new patients,” UAB stated. “For current proton center employees, it is our goal that they will have an option to continue employment with UAB Medicine in another area.”