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 : QLT PhotoTherapeutics (QLTI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ian@SI who wrote (1223)	7/25/2001 10:38:23 PM
From: Julian	Respond to of 1321

QLT Has 2nd-Quarter Profit as Sales of Visudyne Drug Double By Theresa Ebden Vancouver, July 25 (Bloomberg) -- QLT Inc. said it had a second-quarter profit as the company doubled sales of its drug Visudyne, which treats the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. Net income was C$6.6 million ($4.3 million), or 10 Canadian cents a share, the company said in a statement distributed by Canada NewsWire. A year earlier, QLT reported a loss from operations of C$559,000, or 1 cent a share. Revenue tripled to C$31.5 million from C$10.4 million. QLT has been under pressure from investors to increase sales of Visudyne, which dries up eye lesions caused by age-related macular degeneration. To do that, Chief Executive Julia Levy has been trying to find new uses for Visudyne, which accounts for almost all QLT's sales. The Vancouver-based company is testing the drug as a treatment for skin cancer. QLT was expected to earn 8 cents a share, the average estimate of three analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. In the year-earlier period, a gain of C$14.8 million, or 22 cents a share, made net income C$14.2 million, or 21 cents a share. The gain was for the sale of rights to a light-activated cancer-therapy drug to Axcan Pharma Inc. Shares of QLT rose C$2.38, or 7 percent, to C$35.98 Toronto. They have fallen 14 percent this year.

To: Ian@SI who wrote (1223)	8/23/2001 2:23:04 AM
From: tuck	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1321

This sucker ought to run a bit tomorrow: >>ATLANTA and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis Ophthalmics, the eye health unit of Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS - news), and QLT Inc. (Nasdaq: QLTI; Toronto) today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Visudyne(TM) (verteporfin for injection) therapy for the treatment of predominantly classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to pathologic myopia (severe near-sightedness) and presumed ocular histoplasmosis. Visudyne is the only drug treatment approved for these devastating eye conditions. ``The FDA approval is great news,'' said Dr. Julia Levy, president and CEO of QLT. ``For the first time, patients who would otherwise face a progressive loss of vision now have an effective treatment option. The approval also represents another advance in our efforts to combat serious ocular conditions with Visudyne.'' Dan Myers, president of Novartis Ophthalmics, North America said, ``The fact that Visudyne therapy has demonstrated the ability to stabilize and in some cases improve vision in these pathologic myopia and presumed ocular histoplasmosis patients is another remarkable success story for this breakthrough therapy. We're very pleased to now be able to make Visudyne available to the tens of thousands of patients who develop these conditions.'' In phase III studies in patients with CNV due to pathologic myopia, Visudyne therapy stabilized or improved vision (as defined by a loss of less than 8 letters on a standard eye chart) in 72% of patients versus 44% on placebo at month 12. In an open label safety study involving 26 patients with ocular histoplasmosis, visual acuity improved by an average of more than 1 line on a standard eye chart at 12 months (6.7 letters on a standard eye chart) with 28% of patients experiencing a visual acuity improvement of 3 lines (15 letters) or more. Visual acuity decreased by less than 3 lines of vision in 88% of patients during the same time period. Visudyne was approved in April 2000 in the United States and has since been launched in almost 50 countries for the treatment of predominantly classic CNV caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50. CNV due to Pathologic Myopia CNV in pathologic myopia is characterized by abnormal blood vessels that grow under the center of the retina as a result of an abnormal elongation of the eye associated with severe near-sightedness or myopia. It generally occurs among people over 30 years of age and can result in a progressive, severe loss of vision. The worldwide incidence of CNV due to pathologic myopia is estimated to be 50,000 new cases per year. Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis In presumed ocular histoplasmosis, CNV develops from the margin of retinal scars in the back of the eye, which are caused by a fungal infection of the retina. It can lead to severe, irreversible vision loss. The condition is caused by inhaling the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum which is found predominantly in the mid-central U.S. The fungus generally remains in a dormant stage but tends to become more active when a person's immune system is compromised. About Visudyne Visudyne therapy is a two-step procedure that can be performed in a doctor's office. First, the drug is injected intravenously into the patient's arm. A non-thermal laser light is then shone into the patient's eye to activate the drug. Visudyne therapy uses a specially-designed laser that produces the low level, non-thermal 689nm light required to activate the drug. Visudyne is generally well tolerated and has an excellent safety profile. Potential side effects include injection site reactions, headaches, blurring, decreased sharpness and gaps in vision, and in 1-4% of patients a substantial decrease in vision with partial recovery in many patients. People should avoid direct sunlight for five days to avoid sunburn. People with porphyria should not be treated.<< snip Cheers, Tuck