Southwest Florida Proton

What Southwest Florida Proton does

Southwest Florida Proton is a privately held, physician-led cancer treatment center headquartered in Estero, Florida, operating the first proton therapy facility on Florida's Gulf Coast and one of approximately 46–47 in the United States. The center sits within a 42,000-square-foot medical complex and is built around the IBA ProteusONE proton therapy system — a pencil-beam-scanning platform sourced from Belgium-based IBA (the leading global supplier of particle accelerators, with 700+ units installed across 40 countries) — with permanent IBA engineers co-located on-site. Clinical scope spans proton therapy across at least nine cancer indications (pediatric, prostate, breast, CNS, head and neck, gastrointestinal, recurrent, sarcoma, plus lung and lymphoma), augmented by traditional photon radiation delivered in partnership with Advocate Radiation Oncology (led by CEO Dr. Arie Dosoretz) and diagnostic imaging (PET/CT/MRI) delivered in partnership with Lee Health. The leadership team is sourced from Harvard/Mass General, MD Anderson, Yale, MIT, and other top-tier institutions, with Mark Artz (Senior Director of Proton Medical Physics) overseeing physics operations across the $400M+ capital project.

The business model is a clinical services model in which the center bills per proton treatment course through insurance, with proton therapy covered by Medicare and most major private U.S. insurers. Ancillary revenue streams include patient consultation fees (professional services), traditional photon radiation (partner-driven), and diagnostic imaging (partner-driven). The go-to-market is sales-led and built on physician referrals across Southwest Florida, supplemented by direct patient appointments, medical tourism targeting (leveraging proximity to Southwest Florida International Airport and I-75), earned media coverage, and community events. The center opened Phase I (traditional radiation and imaging) in December 2024, began consultations in November 2025, delivered its first proton treatment on December 30, 2025, and reached its 100-patient milestone by May 29, 2026 — earning an IBA world record for a 21-day equipment-to-first-treatment ramp. Treatment hours have already expanded to 14 hours per day with stated intent to scale to 16 hours by summer 2026.

The company is privately financed via a physician-led partnership model rather than disclosed institutional equity rounds; no venture, private equity, or strategic investor capital is identified in the available data. No parent company or holding structure is reported, and no subsidiaries are listed. Operating geographies currently emphasize Southwest and Southeast Florida, with active patient acquisition from Alabama and broader national medical tourism.

Name

Southwest Florida Proton

Legal name

Southwest Florida Proton

Website

https://swflproton.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southwest Florida Proton is a privately held, physician-led cancer treatment center in Estero, Florida, operating the first proton therapy facility on Florida's Gulf Coast using the IBA ProteusONE system. It serves adult and pediatric cancer patients across multiple tumor types via insurance-billed treatment courses and physician referrals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radiation Oncology / Cancer Treatment Services

NAICS

Diagnostic Imaging Centers (621512)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Radiation Oncology (HLAKAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Nuclear Medicine Clinical Services & Therapy Centers (HLAIAGAI)

Keywords

• Proton therapy
• Radiation oncology
• Cancer treatment
• Proton beam therapy
• Diagnostic imaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Myers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Proton Therapy Treatment Services: Revenue generated from proton radiation cancer treatments billed through insurance. Proton therapy is covered by many insurance providers including Medicare and major private insurers.
2. Patient Consultations: Revenue from consultation appointments for cancer patients considering treatment options. Consultations include comprehensive medical history and imaging review.
3. Traditional Radiation Therapy: Traditional photon-based radiation therapy services provided through partner Advocate Radiation Oncology.
4. Diagnostic Imaging Services: PET, CT, and MRI imaging services provided through partner Lee Health.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Southwest Florida Proton is a cancer treatment center providing proton radiation therapy using the IBA ProteusONE system for adult and pediatric cancer patients. The center delivers precise, targeted proton beam treatments across multiple cancer types and complements them with on-site traditional radiation therapy and diagnostic imaging services provided through partner organizations.

Product overview

Southwest Florida Proton is a comprehensive cancer treatment center offering proton therapy as its core advanced technology, augmented by traditional radiation therapy (via Advocate Radiation Oncology partnership) and diagnostic imaging services (via Lee Health partnership). The facility operates the IBA ProteusONE proton therapy system as its centerpiece technology. Treatment services span multiple cancer types including pediatric, prostate, breast, brain/spine, head and neck, gastrointestinal, recurrent cancers, and sarcomas. The center also provides patient consultations and accommodation assistance for out-of-town patients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 patients treated within first 6 months of operation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IBA (Ion Beam Applications)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 December 2025Belgium-based IBA is the leading supplier of particle accelerator technology and proton therapy equipment worldwide. They provide the ProteusONE proton therapy system, with IBA engineers permanently based at Southwest Florida Proton to work collaboratively with the center's leadership team. IBA has sold more than 700 accelerators and its machines treat patients in 40 countries.
• Lee HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Lee Health operates a diagnostic imaging center within the 42,000-square-foot medical complex offering PET, CT, and MRI services. Lee Health serves the Southwest Florida community with a variety of treatment options and has been a community partner since 1916.
• Advocate Radiation OncologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Advocate Radiation Oncology provides traditional photon-based radiation therapy services at the Estero center using Varian TrueBeam technology. Led by Dr. Arie Dosoretz, Advocate offers IMRT, VMAT, IGRT, HDR brachytherapy, SRS, SBRT, SGRT and DIBH techniques.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Proton Therapy: A multi-modality cancer center with proton therapy services in the Pacific Northwest. Provides a comparable comprehensive cancer model combining proton, photon, and imaging under one umbrella.
• Varian Medical Systems (Siemens Healthineers): Manufacturer of the TrueBeam photon system used by Advocate at the Estero complex and a global leader in radiation oncology equipment. Represents the dominant photon-based competitive modality to proton therapy.
• Northwestern Medicine Proton Center: Academic medical center-based proton therapy program in Chicago. Comparable clinical breadth and is a peer employer of dosimetrists and physicists with similar backgrounds to Southwest Florida Proton's leadership team.
• MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center: One of the largest and most established proton therapy programs in the world, based at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. A benchmark clinical competitor and training ground for several Southwest Florida Proton team members (e.g., Dr. Todd Pezzi).
• Massachusetts General Hospital Proton Therapy Center: The original hospital-based proton therapy center in the U.S., affiliated with Harvard. Sets the clinical standard and is the prior institution of Southwest Florida Proton's Senior Medical Director Dr. Shannon MacDonald.

Direct peers

• Provision CARES Proton Therapy Center: A standalone proton therapy center in Nashville, TN. Closely comparable in scale and operational model (single-site, multi-room proton), and competes for medical tourism patients from across the Southeast U.S.
• UF Health Proton Therapy Institute: A proton therapy center in Jacksonville, FL, operating as a major Florida-based proton provider. Direct competitor for Florida cancer patients seeking proton therapy, with a longer operating history and established referral base.
• Miami Cancer Institute (Baptist Health): Operates a proton therapy program as part of a comprehensive Florida cancer center. Competes for South and Southeast Florida patients and is part of a larger health system with broader cancer service lines similar to Southwest Florida Proton's three-partner model.

Others

• IBA (Ion Beam Applications): Belgian manufacturer of the ProteusONE system installed at Southwest Florida Proton and a permanent engineering partner at the facility. Serves as the technology supplier to many of the world's proton centers, including several of the peers listed above.
• Advocate Radiation Oncology: Strategic co-tenant partner at the Estero complex providing traditional photon-based radiation therapy. Not a competitor but a closely aligned operating partner with overlapping leadership (Dr. Dosoretz).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SWFLproton
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southwest-florida-proton

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southwest Florida Proton