Richard,
Found this info thought you might be interested.
par284
ARMD stands for age-related macular degeneration. It is a disease which leads to blindness. Tends to affect only seniors. Right now it is incurable.
QTLI has a first generation product nearing market release. It works using photcoagulation to clot up capillaries in the eye which, growing uncontrolled, cause ARMD.
AKRN is working on a second generation cure for ARMD which it believes has the potential to be a considerable more effective--i.e. longer-lasting and easier to administer--than QTLI's solution. But AKRN is further behind in terms of when it will bring its product to market; the company says it's four years away though it could be as little as two years away.
AKRN claims its treatment for ARMD could be more effective because instead of blocking uncontrolled capillary growth at the capillary level, it will shut down the feeder blood vessels which supply the capillaries. Thus instead of having to frequently redo the procedure the way QTLI's drug would, AKRN would have a longer lasting cure.
Given that the disease is currently incurable and given the continuing growth in the number of older seniors, ARMD is a large market opportunity. Hence QTLI's market cap, even though they only have a first generation product, has recently been over $4 billion!
As I've mentioned in previous postings, one of the reasons I'm hopeful about AKRN's time to market with this product is that the compound, IC Green, is already well known to the FDA. It has been used for a long time as a diagnostic agent in the eye. The new application for it would be as a therapeutic drug, in connection with a laser which would cause photcoagulation of the infringing blood vessels.
I believe that AKRN's version of ICG has already been the subject of at least 100 human clinical trials at sites around Baltimore associated with Johns Hopkins.
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