Second laser cleared for psoriasis treatment

17 Jun 2002

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a second laser to treat the common skin disorder psoriasis.

Orlando, Florida-based Surgilight's (www.surgilight.com) EX-308 excimer source is the company's first to receive FDA clearance. According to reports, use of the laser may reduce patients' total exposure to harmful ultraviolet light by shortening the number of exposures necessary to clear areas that are affected by the disease. By only treating the specific areas affected, radiation on unaffected areas is also reduced.

The National Psoriasis Foundation (www.psoriasis.org) estimates that more than 6 million people in the US are affected by the skin disorder, which, despite being the second most common in the US, is still not completely understood.

Surgilight's only current competitor for phototherapy of psoriasis is Photomedex (www.photomedex.com) of Radnor, Pennsylvania, formerly Laser Photonics, whose excimer-based Xtrac treatment received FDA clearance earlier this year.