First World Launch For QLT/Cyanamid's Photofrin

Quadra Logic Technologies' photodynamic anticancer agent Photofrin (porfimer sodium) has been launched in its first market, the Netherlands, by European licensee American Cyanamid. The drug is indicated for the treatment of obstructive or mucosal lesions associated with non-small cell lung cancer or other tumor types which have spread to the lungs, and for tumors of the esophagus which result in difficulty swallowing.

Dutch approval of QLT's first-generation product was granted earlier on this year (Marketletter May 2). Photofrin is administered as a single injection and renders cells sensitive to the effects of ultraviolet light of specific wavelengths. A laser is then used to achieve localized killing of neoplastic cells.

QLT recently reacquired North American rights to Photofrin from American Cyanamid, in the wake of the latter company's acquisition by American Home Products (Marketletters passim). The therapy has also been approved in Canada and Japan, but QLT says it is waiting to sign deals with suitable licensees before launching in these markets. Approval is pending in other European countries, as well as in the USA where a US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended approval of Photofrin in September.