Priority Healthcare Corporation Is The Preferred Specialty Distributor And Pharmacy Provider Of Novartis' Visudyne For Age-Relat
December 08 2003 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Priority Healthcare Corporation Is The Preferred Specialty
Distributor And Pharmacy Provider Of Novartis' Visudyne For
Age-Related Macular Degeneration LAKE MARY, Fla., Dec. 8
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Priority Healthcare Corporation has
signed an agreement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation to be
a preferred specialty distributor and the preferred specialty
pharmacy provider of Visudyne(R) (verteporfin) beginning January 1,
2004. Visudyne is the first FDA approved drug therapy for patients
with some forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the
leading cause of vision loss in people over 50. "We are very
pleased to become the preferred specialty distributor and pharmacy
provider for Visudyne therapy, a breakthrough in the treatment of
AMD. With the addition of the Visudyne program, ophthalmology has
the potential to become a significant specialty focus for Priority.
Visudyne is a great example of a manufacturer directing currently
available medications to the specialty channel and specifically to
Priority Healthcare," said Steve Cosler, President and CEO of
Priority Healthcare. "We are excited to add Visudyne to the
portfolio of products we distribute for Novartis. This new program
enables us to build upon our strong presence in eye surgery centers
and broaden Priority's presence in ophthalmology," added Guy
Bryant, Executive Vice President and General Manager for
Distribution Services at Priority Healthcare. "With the aging of
the Baby Boomer generation, the National Eye Institute predicts
that blindness from age-related diseases will double over the next
30 years. This dramatic increase heightens the need to provide
specialty services to the AMD patient population and meet the
growing needs of the retina specialists who treat them."
Age-related macular degeneration is the most common cause of vision
loss in the United States in persons 50 and older, and its
prevalence increases with age. It is also the leading cause of
irreversible visual impairment in the elderly, with over 30 million
people estimated to suffer from AMD worldwide. Visudyne is the
first FDA approved medication to treat wet AMD. Wet AMD affects
approximately 10-15% of the patient population and is characterized
by the development of new blood vessels forming behind the retina.
While it cannot completely restore full vision, Visudyne therapy
has the potential to halt the disease and provide some visual
improvement. About Priority Healthcare Corporation Priority
Healthcare Corporation is a national specialty pharmacy and
distributor that provides biopharmaceuticals, complex therapies,
and related disease treatment programs and services. Priority
Healthcare provides comprehensive programs for patients, payors,
physicians, and pharmaceutical manufacturers for a growing number
of disease states including cancer, hepatitis C, respiratory and
pulmonary conditions, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis,
hemophilia, multiple sclerosis and ophthalmology. Additional
information regarding Priority Healthcare is available at
http://www.priorityhealthcare.com/ Certain statements included in
this press release, which are not historical facts, are
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements represent our expectations or beliefs and involve
certain risks and uncertainties, including those described in our
public filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission; also including, but not limited to, changes in interest
rates, competitive pressures, changes in customer mix, changes in
third party reimbursement rates, financial stability of major
customers, changes in government regulations or the interpretation
of these regulations, changes in supplier relationships, growth
opportunities, cost savings, revenue enhancements, synergies and
other benefits anticipated from acquisition transactions,
difficulties relative to integrating acquired businesses, the
accounting and tax treatment of acquisitions, and asserted and
unasserted claims, which could cause actual results to differ from
those in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements by their nature involve substantial risks and
uncertainties, certain of which are beyond our control, and actual
results may differ materially depending on a variety of important
factors. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date herein.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030417/PHCLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Priority Healthcare
Corporation CONTACT: Stephen Saft, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-407-804-6700, or Kirsten Ayars, Public Relations Manager,
+1-407-804-6700, both of Priority Healthcare Web site:
http://www.priorityhealthcare.com/
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