>>NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: EYET - News) is pleased to announce that as of today January 20 Macugen® (pegaptanib sodium injection) is available through three distributors, McKesson Specialty, Priority Healthcare and Besse Medical. These distributors will be providing Macugen within 24-48 hours to retinal specialists, who will make the product available to the patients who suffer from neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
"We have worked diligently to make Macugen available to patients as soon as possible, since there is currently no other medication approved for all neovascular AMD. This disease represents a large unmet medical need, and Macugen has been shown to preserve vision," said David R. Guyer, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals.
Macugen was approved by the FDA on December 17, 2004 for use in the treatment of neovascular AMD, the most common cause of blindness in people older than 50 years of age in developed countries. There are 15 million people in the United States living with some form of AMD, with more than 1.6 million experiencing the active blood vessel growth and blood vessel leakage associated with neovascular AMD. There are over 200,000 new cases of neovascular AMD each year and this number is expected to increase significantly as the baby boomer generation ages and overall life expectancy increases. Presently, over 500,000 people worldwide lose their sight annually from the disease.<<
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Cheers, Tuck |
