VANCOUVER, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - QLT Inc. today reported that its alliance partner, Novartis, announced global Visudyne(R) (verteporfin) sales of approximately US$108 million for the quarter and US$484 million for the year ended December 31, 2005. Visudyne sales for the fourth quarter declined by 13% over the same quarter in 2004 and the full year represented an increase of 8% over annual sales in 2004.
QLT will release its full financial results on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, at 7:30 a.m. ET.
QLT is a global biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing treatments for eye diseases as well as dermatological and urological conditions. We have combined our expertise in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative drug therapies with our two unique technology platforms, photodynamic therapy and Atrigel(R), to create products such as Visudyne(R) and Eligard(R). For more information, visit our web site at www.qltinc.com.
QLT Inc. will hold an investor conference call to discuss year-end results and 2006 guidance on Wednesday, February 22nd at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT). The call will be broadcast live via the Internet at www.qltinc.com. To participate on the call, please dial 1-800-525-6384 (North America) or 780-409-1668 (International) before 8:30 a.m. ET. A replay of the call will be available via the Internet and also via telephone at 1-800-695-1018 (North America) or 402-220-1753 (International), access code 9614255.
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.”
A full explanation of how QLT determines and recognizes revenue resulting from Visudyne sales is contained in the financial statements contained in the periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, under the heading “Significant Accounting Policies - Revenue Recognition.” Visudyne sales are product sales by Novartis under its alliance with QLT.
The Visudyne(R) sales figures in this press release are preliminary and unaudited and are not a complete disclosure of our quarterly or annual financial results. Certain statements in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements” of QLT within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. These statements are only predictions and actual events or results may differ materially. 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.
QLT Inc.
CONTACT: QLT Inc.: Vancouver, Canada, Therese Hayes, Tamara Hicks,Telephone: (604) 707-7000 or 1-800-663-5486, Fax: (604) 707-7001; Torequest a free copy of this organization’s annual report, please go tohttp://www.newswire.ca and click on Tools for Investors.
