MARKETING ACTIVITY COMING FOR CANCER DRUG
By Adnews Staff
A Canadian-made light-activated cancer drug will get a sales push in the U.S. and the Caribbean this year. In Canada, its distributor has plans to advertise and will eventually need an agency. Called Photofrin, the drug is made by QLT Photo Therapeutics of Vancouver (formerly Quadra Logic Technologies). Sanofi Winthrop of New York has bought the rights to market Photofrin in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Ligand Pharmaceuticals of Holland Landing, Ont. has been marketing Photofrin in Canada since July. The company plans to advertise the drug and will look for an agency when the time comes, Ligand marketing manager Bob Newman told Adnews yesterday. Ligand hasn't decided yet when advertising will begin. In the U.S. and Caribbean, the drug will be available late in the first half of 1996. Sanofi spokesperson Jim Fusilli told Adnews this week it's too early to talk about advertising plans. He refused to say what or how many agencies are on the company's roster. Nor would he say if Sanofi would choose one of its current agencies to handle advertising for Photofrin. The drug is administered intravenously, circulates through the body and is retained by tumors. It is then activated by non-thermal light from a medical laser to produces an active form of oxygen that helps destroy cancer cells. Sanofi Winthrop is a multinational alliance between Sanofi, a Paris-based pharmaceutical company, and Sterling Winthrop, a manufacturer of ethical and over-the counter drugs, based in New York.