Oslo, 14 June 2002.
PhotoCure ASA announces today that the company has subscribed for shares totalling 6.6% of Anticancer Therapeutic Inventions AS (ATI), a Norwegian company developing novel anticancer products based on radiopharmaceuticals. The investment totals NOK 5 million. Additionally, PhotoCure has entered into an agreement with other shareholders in ATI, which gives PhotoCure an option, at a pre-set price per share, to acquire additional shares in ATI corresponding to more than 60% of the outstanding shares in the company.
ATI’s lead product AlpharadinTM is a completely new concept within radiopharmaceuticals. AlpharadinTM is a bone metastases-seeking radiopharmaceutical developed for selective irradiation of bone metastases, and is currently undergoing phase I clinical trial in patients with bone metastases. Approximately 80% of patients with advanced lung, prostate and breast cancer may develop bone metastases, and there is thus a strong need for new therapies to delay tumour progression and relive pain associated with these metastases. ATI is founded by researchers at the Norwegian Radium Hospital and the University of Oslo, and its competence in both radiopharmaceuticals and treatment of bone metastases is internationally recognised.
PhotoCure’s President and CEO Professor Vidar Hansson commented: “We are very pleased to become a shareholder in ATI and to take part in the development of the promising product AlpharadinTM. This new concept within radiopharmaceuticals will address a potentially large medical need in patients with advanced cancer, and represents a great opportunity for PhotoCure to enhance its presence in oncology. Furthermore, we believe that we can contribute to a successful development of the technology together with the competent staff within ATI.
ATI's President and CEO Thomas Ramdahl commented: " It is very exciting for ATI to have PhotoCure as a new investor in our company. We see this as an recognition of our technology and an opportunity for further cooperation between the companies."