Been out of the loop but wanted to say "CONGRATS!" to QLT for a great quarter, now and forever profitable, serving an important unmet medical need, and making upstart analysts look foolish.
Didn't now if this was posted:
BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Oct 17, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Option Care, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTN), announced today that its specialty pharmacy and distribution subsidiary, OptionMed(TM), has signed a Preferred Distribution and
Administration Agreement with CIBA Vision Corporation, the eye care unit of Novartis AG, to distribute its biotech drug, Visudyne(R) for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Visudyne(R), (verteporfin for injection) is the first drug therapy (approved) for patients with age-related macular degeneration with predominantly classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV).
OptionMed will work with managed care organizations to administer authorization guidelines and other policies and procedures with respect to the dispensation and reimbursement of Visudyne. It will also be responsible for the design and implementation of unique education awareness programs for managed care organizations regarding the benefits of Visudyne. In conjunction with CIBA Vision's marketing representatives, OptionMed will also launch the Visudyne Program by a preferred status announcement letter, initial and ongoing newsletters, high prescriber targeting strategies and reimbursement information.
Robert Phipps, Director of Managed Care and Government Affairs for CIBA Vision stated, "We look forward to working with OptionMed in order to better serve the needs of our managed care customers and physicians."
Raj Rai, President and Chief Operating Officer of Option Care stated, "We look forward to enhancing our successful National Distribution Program with a unique and critical drug such as CIBA's Visudyne. Although there is no known cure for AMD, the increase of incidence within our aging population is expanding. Option Care is in an outstanding position to bring greater choice and easier access of this important drug to patients and their physicians dealing with this degenerative disease. We envision a close relationship with CIBA where both companies work together closely to raise quality of life levels and awareness about AMD in this growing niche market." Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of legal blindness among people over age 50 in the Western Hemisphere. As the average lifespan continues to increase, the incidence of AMD is
also on the rise. It is estimated that AMD effects up to 5.8% of the population over the age of 45. This rate dramatically increases to 8.8% in people over the age of 52. Approximately 13 million Americans have AMD with over 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the United States and Canada.
Option Care is a provider of specialty pharmacy products and services for injectable and intravenous delivery. The Company contracts with managed care organizations and other third party payers to distribute pharmaceutical products and complex compounded solutions through its national network of more than 140 service locations for delivery to physicians offices or administration to patients at home or an alternate site setting. Option Care, through its OptionMed subsidiary, provides direct-to-physician and direct-to-patient specialty pharmacy products and services through managed care contracts. Option Care also operates a wholly owned subsidiary, Management By Information, Inc. (MBI), which designs state-of-the-art data management products and services for the home health industry. Additional information can be found on the companies'
websites at www.optioncare.com and www.mbimbi.com .
SOURCE Option Care, Inc.
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