EXHIBIT 99.1
[QLT INC. LOGO] QLT Inc. 887 Great Northern Way t 604.707.7000
Vancouver, BC Canada V5T 4T5 f 604.707.7001
www.qltinc.com
n e w s r e l e a s e
QLT ANNOUNCES VISUDYNE(R) SALES FOR FOURTH QUARTER
AND FISCAL YEAR 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JANUARY 22, 2004
VANCOUVER, CANADA--QLT Inc. (NASDAQ:QLTI; TSX:QLT) today reported that its
alliance partner, Novartis, announced global Visudyne(R) (verteporfin) sales of
approximately US$95.9 million for the quarter and US$357 million for the year
ended December 31, 2003. Visudyne sales for the fourth quarter and the full year
represent increases of 24% and 24% over sales in the fourth quarter and annual
sales in 2002 respectively.
QLT will release its financial results on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, at 7:30
a.m. EST.
QLT Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery,
development and commercialization of innovative therapies to treat cancer, eye
diseases and niche areas for which treatments can be marketed by a specialty
sales force. Combining expertise in ophthalmology, oncology and photodynamic
therapy, QLT has commercialized two products to date, including Visudyne
therapy, which is the most successfully launched ophthalmology product ever. 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
2004 guidance on Wednesday, February 11th at 8:30 a.m. EST (5:30 a.m. PST). The
call will be broadcast live via the Internet at www.qltinc.com. A replay of the
call will be available via the Internet and also via telephone at 416-695-5800,
access code 1524613.
-30-
QLT Inc.:
- ---------
Vancouver, Canada
Therese Hayes / Tamara Hicks
Telephone: 604-707-7000 or 1-800-663-5486
Fax: 604-707-7001
Visudyne(R) is a registered trademark of Novartis AG
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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."
The financial results for Visudyne(R) sales 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 express 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.
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