Micropshere Agent Used with Echocardiography Provides Results Comparable to SPECT

A new study concluded that a new microsphere contrast agent used in echocardiography is well tolerated, and that its diagnostic performance in chest pain patients is comparable with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) perfusion imaging.

Acusphere, Inc. (Watertown, MA, USA) reported that the study summarized the phase III clinical trial results for Imagify (perflubutane polymer microspheres) for injectable suspension, a cardiovascular drug for the detection of coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

The study was led by Dr. Roxy Senior, consultant cardiologist and director of cardiac research, department of cardiovascular medicine and Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research at Northwick Park Hospital (Harrow, Middlesex, UK), among others. Dr. Senior was the lead clinical investigator for Acusphere's clinical trials for Imagify.

Acusphere is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops new drugs and improved formulations of existing drugs using its proprietary microsphere technology. The company's lead product candidate, Imagify, is a cardiovascular drug for the detection of coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, for which a New Drug Application (NDA) was submitted to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2008 and filed in June 2008. Imagify is designed to enable ultrasound to compete more effectively with nuclear stress testing, the leading procedure for detecting coronary artery disease.

It is estimated that more than 10 million procedures are done each year in the United States to detect coronary artery disease. Imagify and the company's other product candidates were created using proprietary technology that enables Acusphere to control the porosity and size of nanoparticles and microspheres in a versatile manner that allows them to be customized to address the delivery needs of a variety of drugs.

The study was published in the January 2009 issue of the European Journal of Echocardiography.

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Northwick Park Hospital