




Healthcare Industry News: sanofi-aventis
News Release - May 1, 2007
QLT strengthens its expertise in ocular by adding David A. Saperstein M.D. as interim Chief Medical Officer and Paul L. Kaufman M.D. as Head of the Ocular Scientific Advisory Board
VANCOUVER, May 1 (HSMN NewsFeed) - QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI ; TSX: QLT ) announced today that David A. Saperstein, M.D. will be joining QLT as a consultant and interim Chief Medical Officer and Paul L. Kaufman, M.D. as Head of our Ocular Scientific Advisory Board."We are very pleased to be able to attract these internationally highly regarded experts in ophthalmology to help us assess and develop new treatments for ocular diseases," said Bob Butchofsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of QLT Inc. "Dr. Kaufman is a world-renowned expert in glaucoma and Dr. Saperstein is a highly respected vitreo-retinal clinician and surgeon bringing a wealth of experience in both academic and private practice. We are extremely pleased that Paul and David have agreed to join us in order to apply their collective experience to help QLT develop new products to treat ocular disease."
QLT will host its inaugural Ocular Scientific Advisory Board meeting under Dr. Kaufman's leadership early May.
QLT is building on a relationship established with Dr. Saperstein over several years, starting with his role as one of the original investigators who helped to get Visudyne approved in the U.S. and more recently in his role as one of the co-founders of Retinagenix. In early 2006, QLT entered into an exclusive worldwide co-development and licensing agreement with Retinagenix, LLC, to develop active synthetic retinoid products for the treatment of degenerative retinal diseases.
David A. Saperstein, M.D., is a retinal specialist practicing at Vitreoretinal Associates and an active medical staff at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Saperstein specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of retinal diseases and has a special interest in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, surgical diseases of the retina and the management of ocular trauma. Dr. Saperstein actively participates in clinical trials for the treatment of AMD; he has had continuous and ongoing research funding, has authored several peer reviewed articles, published abstracts and six book chapters, and also received a number of honors and awards. Dr. Saperstein has also held a number of Faculty positions including Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University and Associate Professor, Department Ophthalmology, University of Washington. Dr. Saperstein attended medical school at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, Pennsylvania after completing his B.S. Electrical Engineering with honors at George Washington University.
Paul L. Kaufman, M.D., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a physician-scientist, specializing in glaucoma and studying the mechanisms of aqueous humor formation and drainage, and the age-related loss of near vision (presbyopia). Dr. Kaufman is a past President and current Executive Vice President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), past President of the International Society for Eye Research, and has served on the US National Advisory Eye Council and numerous foundation and corporate scientific advisory boards. He has had continuous research funding from the US National Eye Institute for 27 years, has authored over 300 original scientific articles and 50 book chapters, co-edited several textbooks including the most recent edition of Adler's Physiology of the Eye, and received numerous honors and awards. Dr. Kaufman attended medical school at New York School of Medicine after completing his undergraduate education in Boston.
QLT Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies. Our research and development efforts are focused on pharmaceutical products in the fields of ophthalmology and dermatology. In addition, we utilize two unique technology platforms, photodynamic therapy and Atrigel®, to create products such as Visudyne® and Eligard®. For more information, visit our web site at www.qltinc.com.
Atrigel is a registered trademark of QLT USA, Inc.
Visudyne is a registered trademark of Novartis AG.
Eligard is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis.
QLT Inc. is listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the trading symbol "QLTI" and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "QLT."
Certain statements in this press release which are not historical facts, are "forward-looking" statements as the term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian Securities legislation. You can identify these forward-looking statements and information by QLT's use of words such as "expects," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "believes," and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated, due to a number of factors. These statements include the risk that we may not be able to implement our strategic goals. Factors that could cause such actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such statements are described in detail in QLT's Annual Information Form on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and QLT does not assume any obligation to update such information to reflect later events or developments, except as may be required by law.
Source: QLT
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