Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Akorn Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Czechsinthemail who wrote (94)	6/30/2000 10:01:21 AM
From: scaram(o)uche	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 101

A profitable little pharma with a specialized sales force, the business plan continues to roll out.... Sorry for the funky HTML codes, SI is not behaving at this moment...... Friday June 30, 9:21 am Eastern Time<p> Company Press Release<p> SOURCE: Akorn, Inc.<p> Akorn, Inc. Submits Investigational New Drug<br> Application for Feeder Vessel Approach to Treatment of Age-Related<br> Macular Degeneration<p> BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Akorn, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKRN - news) announced that it submitted an<br> Investigational New Drug Application (``IND'') to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for AK-1003, its product for the<br> treatment of age-related macular degeneration (``AMD''). The Company will test a new method of treatment for both the<br> classic and occult forms of wet AMD, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly.<p> AMD affects 35% of Americans over 75 years of age, or approximately 15 million cases with an additional 200,000 new cases<br> reported annually. Approximately 10% of all AMD patients suffer from the wet form of the disease, in which leakage from<br> blood vessels in the back of eye ultimately can lead to blindness. The wet form is further broken down into classic and occult<br> forms of the disease, with the classic form afflicting about 10% of the total wet AMD patients and the occult form affecting the<br> other 90% of patients.<p> Akorn's investigational treatment involves a new approach to the disease. The treatment regimen will target large feeder vessels<br> supplying the leaking capillaries in the back of the eye, rather than focus on the capillary beds. The treatment approach will<br> identify feeder vessels and then use AK-1003, a photosensitive substance activated by a software-targeted low-energy diode<br> laser, to restrict the flow of blood in the vessels.<p> Floyd Benjamin, President & Chief Executive Officer of Akorn said, ``We are very excited about the opportunity to develop<br> the next generation treatment for wet AMD. Current treatments focus on the capillary beds and are effective primarily with the<br> classic form of the disease. We hope to demonstrate that the feeder vessel approach can treat both the classic and occult forms<br> resulting in longer lasting reduction in bleeding and fluid buildup, thereby improving visual acuity. This IND represents the first<br> effort by the Company to expand our proprietary product offerings by developing new indications for existing NDAs.''<p> Akorn, Inc. manufactures and markets sterile specialty pharmaceuticals, and markets and distributes an extensive line of<br> pharmaceuticals and ophthalmic products including surgical instruments, surgical supplies and related products.<p> The information contained in this news release, other than historical information, consists of forward-looking statements that<br> involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. Such<br> statements regarding the timing of acquiring and developing new products, of bringing them on line and of deriving revenues and<br> profits from them, as well as the effects of those revenues and profits on the company's margins and financial position, is<br> uncertain because many of the factors affecting the timing of those items are beyond the company's control. <p> SOURCE: Akorn, Inc.