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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
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Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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DATE OF REPORT: December 1, 1998
(Date of earliest event reported)
PHOTOGEN TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
NEVADA 0-23553 36-4010347
(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
7327 OAK RIDGE HIGHWAY, SUITE B
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 37931
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(423) 769-4011
(Registrant's telephone number including area code)
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
Photogen Technologies, Inc., in a press release dated December 1, 1998,
filed as Exhibit 99 hereto, announced that it has signed a third research
agreement with a Harvard Medical School affiliate.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
(c) The following exhibit is filed with this report:
99 Press release of the Company, dated December 1, 1998, announcing the
signing of a research agreement with a Harvard Medical School affiliate.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Photogen Technologies, Inc.
By: /s/ John Smolik
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John Smolik, President
Date: December 4, 1998
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit Description
No.
<S> <C>
99 Press release of the Company, dated December 1, 1998,
announcing the signing of a research agreement with
a Harvard Medical School affiliate.
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Exhibit 99
Photogen Technologies, Inc.
7327 Oak Ridge Highway
Knoxville, TN 37931
Voice: 423-769-4012
Fax: 423-769-4013
Internet: www.photogen.com
Photogen Signs Third Agreement With Harvard Medical School Affiliates
Ocular Melanoma Agreement Moves Company Closer to Human Trials
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-- Dec. 1, 1998--Less than one week after the award of two
cornerstone technology patents, Photogen Technologies, Inc. (OTC:PHGN) has,
through its subsidiary Photogen, Inc., signed its third research agreement
with a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The first two agreements
were signed just over one month ago.
The agreement, with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI), will evaluate
the Company's multi-photon excitation (MPE) technology for the treatment of
ocular melanoma. Currently, the most common form of treatment for ocular
melanoma is radiotherapy, which presents a range of local complications. This
research agreement will evaluate MPE as the basis for an alternative
treatment that could offer advantages over current treatments options.
Photogen intends to use the data gained through this evaluation to determine
whether MPE is effective in the destruction of choroidal melanoma, the most
common primary cancer of the eye in adults. Photogen expects the work
conducted under this agreement to help move the company toward the first
commercial MPE-based product for the treatment of diseases of the eye.
Success here will be determined by the favorability of research results and
the company's ability to secure suitable production and distribution
collaborative manufacturing and marketing agreements.
Photogen's agreement with MEEI comes on the heels of two research agreements
with Harvard Medical School affiliates signed approximately one month ago. An
agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital for work to be carried out at
its Center for Imaging and Pharmaceutical Research will evaluate treatment of
prostate and lung cancer using Photogen's simultaneous two-photon excitation
technology. Another agreement with MEEI will initially evaluate the
technology for treatments of age-related macular degeneration of the eye.
All three agreements occurred after a September announcement that the former
Dean of the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Daniel Tosteson, has joined the
Company's Scientific Advisory Council. In addition to these agreements,
Photogen just completed a $98,000
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Phase I SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute to demonstrate its
multi-photon excitation technology in a living animal for the first time.
This research also demonstrated the improved safety and control that the
therapy delivers.
According to Company president and CEO John Smolik, the three agreements and
recent awarding of two cornerstone patents signal the beginning of Photogen's
transition from laboratory research to the early stages of product
development. "This agreement helps our company focus its attention on the
ultimate prize: approval and sale of our first product for treatment of eye
disorders," said John Smolik, president and CEO of Photogen. "The company
believes that the fine spatial control provided by MPE-based procedures is an
ideal fit with the requirements for an effective ophthalmic treatment."
Dr. Lucy Young, M.D. will be MEEI's principal investigator for the ocular
melanoma project. She holds an M.D. degree from University of Wisconsin,
earned in 1981. She earned her Ph.D. in 1984 from Harvard University, and
holds a Board Certification in Ophthalmology earned in 1991. Dr. Young's
clinical interest include diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous,
diabetic retinopathy, ocular trauma and AIDS-related retinal diseases. She
has more than 30 scholarly publications and reviews to her credit, and she is
the recipient of numerous research grants, including grants from the National
Institutes of Health and the Cancer Research Institute.
"Current treatments for ocular melanoma include options involving surgery,
radiation or even removal of the eye," said Dr. Young. "Additional
treatments using lasers or cryotherapy have been used for very small tumors
only, so this agreement between Photogen and MEEI could lead to treatments
that enhance survival rates and provide better visual outcome for patients
afflicted with ocular melanoma."
This agreement with MEEI, currently set for a nine month term, provides that
research extensions and spin off options may be undertaken with Photogen. All
three agreements signed recently enable Photogen to combine its technology
with the scientific expertise, laboratory facilities and personnel provided
by MEEI and CIPR (through Mass General). MEEI and CIPR (through Mass General)
each have the right to patent any new inventions arising out of the research
pursuant to their respective projects, and Photogen has the right to obtain
an exclusive license concerning the invention on terms to be negotiated after
development of the invention.
About Choroidal Melanoma (Ocular Melanoma)
Choroidal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults. It
grows in the back of the eye, underneath the retina. Because choroidal
melanoma occurs inside the eye, the tumor is not visible to patients until it
grows to a size that impairs vision by obstruction, bleeding, retinal
detachment or other complications. Until to 15 years ago, the standard
treatment was enucleation, but radiotherapy has since become the most widely
used technique. Even with treatment, metastatic disease occurs in over a
quarter of
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patients, and there is presently no effective therapy for metastatic ocular
melanoma. The life expectancy of patients with disseminated disease usually
is less than one year.
About Photogen
Photogen's scientists are working toward the development of proprietary
multi-photon excitation technology to enhance the safety and efficacy of
photodynamic therapy for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, infectious
diseases and other medical or other conditions.
Photogen Technologies, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary - Photogen,
Inc. - is a development-stage Company focused on creating
photodynamic-related health care products based on its proprietary
multi-photon excitation and related technology. The Company has discovered
new methods for using laser-generated light to activate photoactive agents
within deep tissue sufficient to produce a range of beneficial therapeutic
and diagnostic outcomes. These technologies involve methods, materials and
devices that may be used to produce light and photoactive agents that will
destroy diseased cells, remove tissue or identify and diagnose disease.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. The Company has no products or operating revenues at this
time. A full discussion of the Company's operations and financial condition,
including risk factors that may affect the Company's business and future
prospects, is contained in documents the company files with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, such as the Company's reports on Form 10-QSB, Form
10-KSB and Form 8-K. These documents identify important factors that could
cause the Company's actual performance to differ from current expectations.
The common stock of Photogen Technologies, Inc. is traded on the
over-the-counter bulletin board market under the symbol PHGN.
For information, contact Robert Cathey at Ackermann Public Relations &
Marketing, 423/584-0550, e-mail: [email protected]. Or, visit our World
Wide Web site, at www.photogen.com.
Photogen is a trademark of Photogen Technologies, Inc.
