QLT Announces Sale Of Visudyne(R) To Valeant Pharmaceuticals

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QLT Inc. (Nasdaq:QLTI) (TSX:QLT) announced today that it has completed the sale of the Company's Visudyne ^® business to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement with Valeant, QLT received a payment of $112.5 million at closing and is eligible to receive additional amounts in contingent payments. $50 million of the initial purchase price is for the right to receive royalties on Visudyne sales outside of the United States under a license agreement with Novartis Pharma AG and the right to supply Visudyne to Novartis for sales outside of the United States, and $62.5 million of the initial purchase price is for the rights and assets of the Visudyne business in the United States. QLT is eligible to receive up to $5 million in contingent payments relating to the development of its laser program in the United States, up to $15 million in contingent payments relating to the Novartis non-U.S. royalties and a royalty on net sales of new indications for Visudyne, if any should be approved.

Jason M. Aryeh, Chairman of QLT, said, "The board is pleased to have executed on a key strategic objective and completed a transaction that is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. We look forward to returning capital to shareholders in the most efficient manner and to maximize the potential of our synthetic oral retinoid program. On behalf of QLT, we are confident that Valeant is the right company to continue offering Visudyne ^® in the U.S. as an important treatment option to patients. I would like to personally thank the Valeant team for their true professionalism and integrity throughout this process."

Conference Call Information

QLT Inc. will hold an investor conference call to discuss the sale of Visudyne ^® on Monday, September 24, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT). The call will be broadcast live via the Internet at www.qltinc.com. To participate on the call, please dial 1-800-319-4610 (North America) or 604-638-5340 (International) before 11:00 a.m. ET. A replay of the call will be available via the Internet and also via telephone at 1-800-319-6413 (North America) or 604-638-9010 (International), access code 7157, followed by the "#" sign.

About QLT

QLT is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative ocular products that address the unmet medical needs of patients and clinicians worldwide. We are focused on developing our synthetic retinoid program for the treatment of certain inherited retinal diseases.

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