Announcement • Jun 06
Photocure ASA (OSE:PHO) acquired Vesica Health for $25.5 million. Photocure ASA (OSE:PHO) acquired Vesica Health for $29.5 million on June 4, 2026. The total transaction value of $30.5 million, which includes a $3.0 million equity investment made by Photocure in Q1 2026, prior to this acquisition. The consideration consists of $13.75 million due at closing, comprised of $11.0 million in cash and $2.75 million in Photocure equity and up to $13.75 million in future milestone-based payments, comprised of $5.5 million cash and $8.25 million in Photocure equity. The transaction is net of $2.0 million of cash on Vesica Health's books. All equity consideration is valued based on the 30-day Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of Photocure shares prior to closing. Consideration due at Close will be funded through cash and treasury shares on hand. Consideration due for milestones will be funded with available cash and facilities. The equity consideration due for milestones may, pursuant to the agreement with the sellers, be settled with the issuance of new shares or delivery of treasury shares to the sellers.
DNB Carnegie, Investment Arm acted as financial adviser to Photocure ASA. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP acted as legal adviser and Advokatfirmaet Selmer acted as legal adviser to Photocure ASA for this acquisition.
Photocure ASA (OSE:PHO) completed the acquisition of Vesica Health for $25.5 million on June 4, 2026. Announcement • May 20
Photocure ASA Presents New Studies Demonstrating Blue Light Cystoscopy Benefits In High-Risk NMIBC Management And Cost Comparison Photocure ASA announced the presentation of two Photocure-supported abstracts at the American Urological Association Annual Congress (AUA) 2026. The first highlighted the benefits of Blue Light Cystoscopy (BLC®), notably its diagnostic sensitivity impacting the management of high-risk NMIBC patients, helping urologists and patients make well-informed decisions. The second abstract investigated the impact of avoiding recurrence in a Blue Light versus White Light Cystoscopy (WLC) comparison of costs at 5 years. The AUA Annual Meeting 2026 was held May 15, 2026 to May 18, 2026 in Washington DC, USA. In the Poster and Podiums session on May 15, 2026: IP20-24: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether blue light cystoscopy (BLC®) improves early recognition of CIS/high-risk disease and helps inform clinical decision making in real-world practice. The study looked at 794 BLC and 4,764 matched WLC patients from the Optum Research Database (2016-2023). Blue light cystoscopy (BLC) was found to significantly improve early detection of carcinoma in situ (CIS) and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared to white light cystoscopy (WLC) using claims from the OPTUM database. Specific findings include: BLC was associated with significantly higher CIS detection (8.5% vs. 3.4%) and cystectomy rates (4.6% vs. 2.3%). Increased Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy use (31.0% vs. 15.9%) that persisted over approximately 3.5 years of follow-up. These differences remained significant beyond the initial 90 days, indicating durable diagnostic sensitivity and facilitating earlier, risk-appropriate treatment decisions, which supports broader adoption of BLC for improved clinical and economic outcomes in managing high-risk bladder cancer. The authors conclude: "BLC provides durable diagnostic sensitivity for CIS, is associated with high levels of BCG use and may enable earlier initiation of appropriate therapy. BLC therefore may serve as a triage tool: identifying patients suitable for bladder-sparing drugs while directing truly high-risk cases to early definitive treatment. This risk-appropriate management pattern supports clinical and economic rationale for broader BLC adoption." In the "Health Services Research: Value of Care, Cost and Outcome Measures" session on May 18, 2026: IP74-03 This abstract compared costs in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) care, incurred by white light cystoscopy (WLC) versus blue light cystoscopy (BLC®). Results of the real-world evidence study showed that while BLC was associated with higher initial costs of treatment than WLC, lower recurrence rates in the BLC patient cohort drive cost neutrality overall. Bladder cancer is associated with high treatment costs. A significant portion of cost is related to the high rates of cancer recurrence. In study, utilization of BLC in the management of NMIBC was associated with modestly higher healthcare costs compared to white light. However, the majority of cost was related to increased use of guideline recommended intravesical therapy in the BLC cohort due to early detection of tumor. Early detection facilitated by BLC, appropriate intravesical therapy, and reduced recurrence significantly narrowed the cost differential that approached net cost neutrality compared to WL while providing superior clinical outcomes. These findings provide real-world cost data to aid in the decision-making process for utilizing BLC particularly in the care of high-risk NMIBC patients. The BRAVO study (Bladder Cancer Recurrence Analysis in Veterans and Outcomes) is a propensity score matched, retrospective analysis evaluating outcomes following BLC compared to WLC alone in 622 patients from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. The primary objective was to determine the difference in total healthcare costs over 1, 2, and 5-year intervals with available cost data. A cost-offset analysis was performed addressing multiple aspects of BLC healthcare costs including the financial impacts of recurrence avoidance. The Veterans' Affairs (VA) Healthcare system accepts all U.S. Veterans, regardless of financial background, and retains its patients, allowing for high-quality data capture over a long-term follow-up period, therefore serving as a robust real-world model for equal access. Results: BLC vs. WLC patients were more likely to receive intravesical BCG (61% vs 43%; $108,411 vs $66,734). 
