EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2005--PhereSys(TM) Therapeutics Corporation (“PhereSys”) announced today that in connection with its sale of certain assets of Rheogenx Biosciences Corporation to OccuLogix, Inc. (NASDAQ:RHEO) (“OccuLogix”), PhereSys has entered into a strategic, co-marketing and supply agreement to become the preferred mobile Therapeutic Apheresis (“TA”) provider of OccuLogix’s RHEO(R) System in the Unites States. OccuLogix is a provider of innovative ophthalmologic medical therapies headquartered in Toronto, Canada, which recently completed patient enrollment for its FDA MIRA-1 Trial which is designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its proprietary RHEO(R) System technology for the treatment of Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (“D-AMD”). AMD is the leading cause of late onset visual impairment and legal blindness in people over the age of 50. AMD affects approximately 12 to 15 million patients in North America, with approximately 85% to 90% diagnosed with the “Dry” form of the disease. Currently, there is no FDA-approved therapy for D-AMD. Based on an interim analysis of MIRA-1 trial data, the RHEO System showed promising results as a novel therapeutic weapon to combat D-AMD, and early experience in Europe suggests that it may hold promise to treat other micro-vascular-related disorders as well (A summary of the interim analysis results of OccuLogix’s MIRA-1 trials is available at www.aosonline.org/xactions/2002/07Pulido.pdf).
