An eye for photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapies have generated only moderate interest in the cancer field, in part because the light-activated therapies can damage other tissues if they penetrate too far into the body. But PDT is generating excitement in the ophthalmology community, offering the first viable therapy for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc. last week released Phase III data showing that its Visudyne verteporfin photodynamic therapy preserved vision in a majority of patients with the "wet" form of AMD, a condition that can cause blindness...