Newswise — The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) announces that yesterday, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, a jury found in favor of MEEI on claims of unjust enrichment and unfair trade practices against QLT Inc.
The jury found QLT Inc. liable for 3.01% royalty on worldwide net sales of Visudyne, as well as for MEEI's attorney's fees. The case, which began in 2000, relates to the development of Visudyne as a treatment for the wet form of macular degeneration. It was tried to the jury over the past three weeks.
Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in people over the age of 50 in the Western world. Visudyne was the first drug therapy approved for this devastating disease and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000. Net worldwide sales of Visudyne to date total approximately $2.2 billion, according to QLT Inc.
"Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is proud of the pioneering work of its researchers, Drs. Joan Miller and Evangelos Gragoudas, in the development of this landmark treatment," said MEEI President F. Curtis Smith. "The Infirmary is dedicated to developing treatments for debilitating diseases like macular degeneration."
The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an international center for treatment and research and a teaching partner of Harvard Medical School. For more information, call (617) 523-7900 or TDD (617) 523-5498 or visit http://www.meei.harvard.edu.
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