Visudyne

Visudyne is a drug used to treat a condition "where abnormal blood vessels grow in the back of your eye causing you to lose central vision and impairing your eyesight."

The dru

A possible side effect of the drug, according to a Novartis medicial information sheet, is "decreased vision. Visudyne has caused a severe decrease in vision shortly after treatment in a small number of patients. Partial recovery of vision was observed in some of these patients." 

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Macular Degeneration Foundation

United States

 * Food and Drug Administration, "Visudyne®", December 12, 2000.
 * CIBA Vision; QLT PhotoTherapeutics, "FDA Approves Visudyne(TM) Therapy For AMD; A Major Advance in Ophthalmology", Media Release, April 13 2000.
 * CIBA Vision; QLT PhotoTherapeutics, "Visudyne Data Highlighted at the Association for Research in Vision                    And Ophthalmology Annual Conference", PR Newswire'', May 3, 2000.

Australia

 * "New drugs", Australian Prescriber, Volume 23, 2000, pages 137-9.
 * "Breakthrough eye treatment", A Current Affair, May 11, 2001.
 * Australian Government Department of Health and Aging, "Securing Australia's Health", Media Release, May 14, 2002.
 * "Govt funds breakthrough treatment for leading cause of blindness", ABC News, May 31, 2002.
 * Australian Drug Evaluation Committee, "Australian Drug Evaluation Committee 222nd meeting recommendations", Therapuetic Goods Administration, July 9, 2002.
 * "FDA fast tracks Genaera's drug for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration", News Medical Net'', October 4, 2004.
 * Novartis Australia, "Visudyne: Consumer Medicine Information", February 2005. (Pdf)
 * Medical Services Advisory, "Application 1063: Photodynamic therapy for Verteporfin (Visudyne) for Subfoveal choroidal neoasculanisations (Commercial in Confidence)", May 27, 2005.
 * Rebecca Jenkins, "New AMD treatment an eye opener", Australian Doctor, March 1, 2006.
 * Australian Government Department of Health and Aging, "Visudyne Therapy (Verteporfin) – Continue funding", Budget 2006-2007, May 2006.
 * Macular Degeneration Foundation, "Funding Decision Set to Curb Australia's Eye Health Epidemic, June 2003. (This is a cached version of an article/media release)
 * Macular Degeneration Foundation,, "Marion's story", undated, accessed June 2006.