Press Release - Oslo, Norway, December 8th, 2025: Photocure ASA (OSE: PHO), the
Bladder Cancer Company, announces the presentation of a health economics
abstract from the BRAVO study at the Society of Urologic Oncology 2025 Annual
Meeting (SUO) December 2-5, 2025, in Phoenix, AZ. The abstract "COSTS OF CARE
AND ONCOLOGIC OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH BLUE LIGHT CYSTOSCOPY IN AN EQUAL ACCESS
SETTING: RESULTS FROM THE BRAVO STUDY" compares 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 show
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 our 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," said Dr. Steven Williams, Professor
and Chief of the Division of Urology, at the University of Texas-Medical Branch,
and one of the study authors.
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%