Novartis presents 6-month results from its EVEREST study for PCV

Dec 9 2009

QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI; TSX: QLT) ("QLT" or the "Company") welcomed the 6-month results from the Novartis-sponsored EVEREST study which were presented during a scientific review today by Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. EVEREST is the first multi-center, double-masked, indocyanine green angiography (ICG-A) -guided randomized controlled trial with an angiographic treatment outcome designed to assess the effect of Visudyne(R) (verteporfin photodynamic therapy) alone or in combination with Lucentis(R) (ranibizumab) compared with Lucentis alone in patients with symptomatic macular polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). A total of 61 PCV patients of Asian ethnicity from 5 countries (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, and Singapore) participated in the study.

The key results from EVEREST include:

- Complete Polyp Regression (primary endpoint): Visudyne combination with Lucentis and Visudyne monotherapy showed a significantly higher proportion of patients with complete polyp regression at month 6 than the Lucentis monotherapy group. Complete polyp regression was achieved in 77.8% of patients who received the Visudyne - Lucentis combination, while 71.4% of Visudyne monotherapy patients had complete regression compared with 28.6% of patients in the Lucentis monotherapy group>

"EVEREST suggests that in a majority of patients, Visudyne therapy, with or without Lucentis, may lead to complete regression of the polyps that can cause vision loss in patients with PCV, a potentially devastating eye disease," said Bob Butchofsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of QLT. "While published case studies had implied this effect, EVEREST is, to our knowledge, the first randomized, controlled trial designed to corroborate such observations."

Source: QLT INC.