Oslo, May 23rd 2002. PhotoCure ASA announces today that the company has received national marketing authorisation for Metvix® PDT (Photodynamic Therapy) in Finland. As national marketing authorisations have already been granted in Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark, the Finnish authorisation means that PhotoCure now has received marketing authorisations for all the Nordic countries.

Product specialists are currently marketing Metvix® PDT in Sweden, while pre-launch activities are ongoing in Norway, Denmark and Finland. In addition to arranging national conferences, these activities include price and reimbursement applications, and educational programs in the use of Metvix® PDT. PhotoCure does not expect significant sales before these activities are completed. PhotoCure has licensed the rights to marketing and sale of Metvix® PDT to Galderma S.A. outside the Nordic area, but has retained these rights in the Nordic countries.

As of today, Metvix® PDT is approved in 14 European countries and New Zealand and applications are pending in other countries including the US.

PhotoCure ASA is a Norwegian listed company with the mission to develop and sell pharmaceuticals and medical devices based on proprietary photodynamic technologies. The company develops products for skin cancer and other skin diseases, internal cancer, gene therapy and cancer vaccines. Metvix® PDT is approved for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) and actinic keratosis (pre-cancerous skin lesions). PhotoCure's second pharmaceutical product, Hexvix®, is currently undergoing phase III clinical trials for bladder cancer detection.

PCI Biotech AS, a subsidiary of PhotoCure ASA, is focused on the opportunities for photochemical internalisation (PCI) as a platform technology in drug discovery, development and delivery of novel cancer therapeutics.

Metvix® PDT is an innovative skin cancer treatment that combines the local application of a cream (Metvix®), which is selectively absorbed into the cancer cells, followed by activation of the drug through illumination with a proprietary red light source. Metvix® is approved for non-melanoma skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and pre-cancerous skin lesions, actinic keratosis (AK), in most European countries and New Zealand, while market authorisations are pending in other countries including the US. Galderma S.A. is responsible for the marketing and sales of Metvix® outside the Nordic area.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of cancer among caucasians, with about two million cases annually worldwide. Although BCC is a type of skin cancer that rarely metastasises, it spreads slowly just below the skin surface and can lead to significant complications. The most difficult lesions are those that due to size, location (e.g. mid-face) or previous treatment may potentially lead to complications and poor cosmetic outcome associated with complex surgical procedures.

Actinic keratosis (AK), also called "sun spots", is the most commonly diagnosed pre-cancerous skin condition. Worldwide, it is estimated that about 20 million cases of AK occur each year. Early and effective treatment of AK is important as, if left untreated, a certain number of these lesions may progress to squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive and potentially life-threatening type of skin cancer.

For more information contact:

PhotoCure ASA
Vidar Hansson, CEO
Hoffsveien 48
0377 Oslo
Norway

www.photocure.com

E-mail: vh@photocure.no
Telephone: +47 22 06 22 10
Fax: +47 22 06 22 18
Mobile: +47 90 73 78 72