Wall Street Journal Examines PDT

Wednesday, August 26, 1998

. . . . [E]ye specialists are upbeat about an esoteric new technology called photo-dynamic therapy, or PDT, that has set off a high-stakes race among drug makers Novartis AG, Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. and the Alcon Laboratories Inc. unit of Nestle SA.

Chemical Reaction
Originally designed to fight cancer, PDT is a two-step procedure. A light-sensitive drug injected into a patient accumulates in new blood vessels. When exposed to light from a special laser, the drug ignites a chemical reaction that collapses the blood vessels without damaging surrounding tissue.

Late this year, Novartis and biotechnology partner QLT Photo Therapeutics Inc. expect to complete a clinical trial of PDT involving 600 patients at 28 hospitals around the world. If successful, the Novartis/QLT system could win regulatory approval as early as next year.

"From all our indications, this will be a blockbuster product," says Luzi von Bidder, head of ophthalmic operations at Ciba Vision, Novartis's eye-care unit. Industry analysts agree: At a projected price of $2,000 per procedure, PDT represents a potential billion-dollar market. Pharmacia & Upjohn and Alcon, each working with its own U.S. partner, hope to reach the market early in the next decade. . . . (italics added)

Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, August 26, 1998
Stephen D. Moore, "Eye Diseases Attract Drug Makers' Attention," B6