EXECS FROM QLT PHOTOTHERAPEUTICS, DUSA PHARMA AND COHERENT DISCUSS PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY ON INFORMED INVESTORS RADIO
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 22, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of
blindness among persons 50-and-over in the western world with an
estimated 500,000 new cases each year.
Last week, an important approval in Swizterland allows a Canadian
company, QLT PhotoTherapeutics, and partner CIBA Vision, the
Atlanta-based unit of Novartis AG, to market their "Visudyne" therapy
to treat patients with wet AMD in Switzerland, an important step to
widespread approval.
For the latest developments on the importance of the Visudyne therapy
for AMD, and which companies are driving this work, plan to listen to
today's InformedInvestors.com's weekly "Biotech from the Beltway" radio
show at 11:00 a.m. EST carried live over the Internet at
www.informedinvestors.com. Questions can be sent via email during the
show to cohost Tim Quast at tim@informedinvestors.com.
Appearing on the one-hour show will be senior executives from three
companies involved in the fast-growing and important field of
"photodynamic therapy," QLT (Nasdaq: QLTI), Dusa (Nasdaq: DUSA) and
Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR). Also appearing to give further perspective and
additional insight into the companies will be John Rende, biotech
analyst with Weintraub Capital in San Francisco.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the use of light-activated compounds to
target diseases. Wet AMD typically destroys central vision, which is
necessary for daily tasks such as reading, driving, and recognizing
faces. The condition is characterized by the formation of abnormal
blood vessels (choroidal neovasculature or CNV) that grow across the
central part of the retina, called the macula. These vessels leak fluid
and eventually cause scar tissue, which destroys central vision in as
little as two months to 3 years.
Visudyne therapy can be performed in a doctor's office as a two-step
procedure. First, Visudyne is injected intravenously into the patient's
arm. Then the drug is activated by shining non-thermal laser light into
the patient's eye. A specifically designed laser produces the light
required to activate the drug. These lasers have been developed by two
leading laser companies, Coherent and the Carl Zeiss Group, based in
Germany.
InformedInvestors.com is the leading producer of online and offline
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SOURCE InformedInvestors.com
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