QLT shares get shot in arm from FDA panel ruling
Thursday November 18, 5:48 pm Eastern Time
TORONTO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Shares of QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc. (Toronto:QLT.TO- news) jumped more than 10 percent on Thursday after an advisory panel to the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration said on Wednesday it had recommended approval of an anti-blindness treatment developed by QLT and Swiss firm Novartis AG .
In midday trading, shares of the Vancouver-based biotechnology company were up C$6.40, or 11.5 percent, at $62.20, making QLT one of the most active stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Early on Thursday, QLT touched a high of C$69.25. The stock had traded previously in a 52-week range of C$11.90 and C$67.30.
The jump came after the FDA's Opthalmic Drugs Subcommittee supported QLT's Visudyne, a treatment for one type of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is a leading cause of blindness for people over the age of 50.
The panel said Visudyne was safe and effective for treating the most severe form of the disease, but cautioned it provided only modest benefit for certain patients. The panel urged the FDA to look closely at long-term studies.
The FDA is expected to make a final decision on the approval of the Visudyne application on or before February 2, 2000. Applications are also pending in Europe, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Australia and New Zealand.
Although QLT has yet to turn a profit, analysts are expecting the company to benefit greatly from Visudyne. Analysts have estimated sales of Visudyne could be roughly C$1 billion a year, with QLT taking a 50-percent share.
''This is good news for QLT. It means they'll be able to commercialize Visudyne early next year. Visudyne is going to be a big drug,'' said Christine Charette, a biotech analyst at Nesbitt Burns, in Toronto.
The news prompted Charette to boost her rating on the company from a buy to a strong buy with a 12-month target on the stock of $87.50 a share.
($1=$1.47 Canadian)
Source: biz.yahoo.com |
