PRESS RELEASE - Oslo, Norway, 7 December, 2020: Photocure ASA (OSE:PHO) today<br
/>
announced new data and analyses presented at the 21[st] Annual Meeting of the<br
/>
Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO). Presentations discussed the use of Blue<br
/>
Light Cystoscopy (BLCT) with Cysview[®], in particular the positive impact on<br
/>
patient outcomes in the surveillance setting without a significant impact on
the<br />
cost of care, as well as the benefits of identifying early recurrences in
high<br />
-risk NMIBC patients undergoing BCG treatment.<br />
<br />
The SUO meeting, held virtually this year, is led by internationally renowned<br
/>
urologic oncologists, medical oncologists, and scientists and attracts the<br />
interest of experts from all over the world.<br />
<br />
"The use of BLC with Cysview continues to inspire the scientific community as<br
/>
much as ever for improving the care of patients diagnosed with bladder
cancer.<br />
These new abstracts highlight the role of the procedure throughout patient
care,<br />
especially focusing on the impact on patient management when used in<br />
surveillance. The Budget Impact Model supports the favorable cost-benefit of<br
/>
blue light procedures including in the office setting, while reaffirming its<br
/>
superiority in detection of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to
white<br />
light alone. Both healthcare systems and patients clearly benefit from this<br
/>
standard of care procedure", said Dan Schneider, President and CEO of
Photocure.<br />
<br />
<br />
BLC with Cysview abstracts and posters have been prominently featured at the
SUO<br />
meeting, including:<br />
<br />
  · Budget Impact of Blue Light Cystoscopy in The Surveillance Setting<br />
<br />
Stephen B. Williams, et al. The University of Texas Medical Branch<br />
The Budget Impact Model was developed based on standard protocols for the<br />
treatment and surveillance of NMIBC. Inputs were based on a simulated
facility<br />
with 50 newly diagnosed bladder cancer patients. Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC)<br
/>
with Cysview was utilized for all surveillance cystoscopies. In the office<br />
setting, the additional use of flexible BLC for surveillance did not<br />
substantially impact cost and resulted in the identification of 9 recurrences<br
/>
over the course of two years that would otherwise be missed.<br />
<br />
Link to the abstract (https://suo-abstracts.secure<br />
-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/9/details/943)<br />
<br />
<br />
  · Using BLC at the 3-Month Post-BCG Cystoscopy, Impact on Cancer Diagnosis,<br
/>
and Implications for Clinical Trial Design and Definition of BCG Response<br />
<br />
Meera R. Chappidi, et al. University of California San Francisco<br />
<br />
"We initiated this study because the utility of blue light cystoscopy (BLC)
for<br />
surveillance in patients receiving BCG treatments is really not well
understood.<br />
Thus, no recommendations exist in current guidelines. Beyond the obvious
benefit<br />
of detecting recurrences that would otherwise be missed, we think that<br />
identifying early recurrences in patients receiving BCG can result in them
being<br />
enrolled into clinical trials for BCG unresponsive disease in a timely
manner",<br />
said Dr. Max Kates, Assistant Professor of Urology and Oncology, Co-Director,<br
/>
Bladder Cancer Multidisplinary Clinic, The James Buchanan Brady Urologic<br />
Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.<br />
<br />
Based on findings from the Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC) with Cysview Multi<br />
-institutional Registry, BLC-alone identified patients with recurrences after<br
/>
recent BCG treatment that would have been missed with White-light Cystoscopy<br
/>
(WLC) alone. This could be interpreted as WLC-alone incorrectly assessing<br />
inflated complete response rates in comparison to the more accurately
measured<br />
results when BLC is added for surveillance (60% vs 55.3%). The implications
of<br />
misidentified complete responses lead to inflated efficacy results, incorrect<br
/>
statistical findings and misguided conclusions. Future research is needed to<br
/>
clarify how BLC should be used for both entry into clinical trials and for<br />
surveillance while on trials.<br />
<br />
Link to the abstract (https://suo-abstracts.secure<br />
-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/9/details/912)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
About Bladder Cancer<br />
Bladder cancer ranks as the sixth most common cancer worldwide with 1 650 000<br
/>
prevalent cases (5-year prevalence rate), 550 000 new cases and almost
200 000<br />
deaths annually in 2018.[1]<br />
<br />
Approx. 75% of all bladder cancer cases occur in men.[1] It has a high<br />
recurrence rate with an average of 61% in year one and 78% over five
years.[2]<br />
Bladder cancer has the highest lifetime treatment costs per patient of all<br />
cancers.[3]<br />
<br />
Bladder cancer is a costly, potentially progressive disease for which
patients<br />
have to undergo multiple cystoscopies due to the high risk of recurrence.
There<br />
is an urgent need to improve both the diagnosis and the management of bladder<br
/>
cancer for the benefit of patients and healthcare systems alike.<br />
<br />
Bladder cancer is classified into two types, non-muscle invasive bladder
cancer<br />
(NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), depending on the depth of<br
/>
invasion in the bladder wall. NMIBC remains in the inner layer of cells
lining<br />
the bladder. These cancers are the most common (75%) of all BC cases and
include<br />
the subtypes Ta, carcinoma in situ (CIS) and T1 lesions. In MIBC the cancer
has<br />
grown into deeper layers of the bladder wall. These cancers, including
subtypes<br />
T2, T3 and T4, are more likely to spread and are harder to treat.[4]<br />
[1] Globocan. Incidence/mortality by<br />
population. Available at: http://globocan.iarc.fr/Pages/bar_pop_sel.aspx<br />
[2] Babjuk M, et al. Eur Urol. 2019