NEW GENERATION OF DRUGS HOLD GREAT PROMISE IN SAVING AND IMPROVING THE LIVES OF MILLIONS OF HEART FAILURE PATIENTS
Evidence presented at the 2015 HFA Congress shows that the cardiac biomarker ST2 is poised to help doctors tailor treatment to each patient’s needs and then monitor therapy effectiveness.
SAN DIEGO, CA June 2, 2015 – Critical Diagnostics announced that during the 2015 Heart Failure Congress, the annual meeting of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) held this year from May 23 to 26 in Seville, Spain, the heart failure biomarker ST2 was prominent in at least 20 posters and talks.
Over the four days, a faculty of approximately 300 international experts presented the latest news on heart failure under the theme “Heart Failure taking centre stage: Drugs, devices and multidisciplinary care.” For the 4,700 participants from some 70 countries, it was an opportunity to learn more about new drugs for treating heart failure and how the cardiac biomarker ST2 is helping improve care for the millions people around the world who suffer from heart failure.
“Of all the new biomarkers being touted for heart failure, ST2 is the only one that should be used on a regular basis,” notes Alan Maisel, a faculty member at the Heart Failure Congress and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego as well as the Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Heart Failure Program at the VA Medical Center in La Jolla, California. Dr. Maisel is considered a world expert on cardiac biomarkers with well over 100 scientific publications and the principal investigator in the Breathing Not Properly study, which paved the way for BNP to become a diagnostic tool in congestive heart failure. “This is an exciting time for ST2. This new HbA1C [glycated hemoglobin, used to get an overall picture of what average blood sugar levels have been over a period of time in diabetes’ patients] of heart failure should have an immediate impact on patient care.”
“Despite some progress, the fact is that the prognosis of heart failure is worse than that of most cancers,” notes David Geliebter, CEO of Critical Diagnostics. “All that could change, however, as did the once-accepted dreary outcome for millions of cancer patients – thanks to the introduction of new drugs and companion diagnostics to tailor treatments to each individual heart failure patient’s needs. It’s this vital companion diagnostics component to treatment selection and monitoring therapy effectiveness where ST2 becomes critical.”
As a reflection of how clinical interest in ST2 has grown, according to PubMed, an online repository of peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, in just the first five months of this year there have been over 144 papers and abstracts published on ST2, which exceeds all of 2012 and is fast approaching the record-breaking number published in each of the last two years.
"ST2 has consistently shown robust prognostic value in heart failure in multiple studies,” remarked Dr. Antonio Bayes-Genis, a leading expert in cardiac biomarkers, a faculty member at the Heart Failure Congress, a cardiologist at Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol and Professor Titular at Department Medicina in Barcelona, Spainbai. “A number of centers, including ours have already incorporated ST2 in routine clinical practice.”
ABOUT HEART FAILURE
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. As noted by Professor Eugene Braunwald, a keynote speaker at the 2015 HFA Congress, in his paper “The War Against Heart Failure,” in The Lancet, Heart failure is a global problem with an estimated prevalence of 38 million patients worldwide, and a number that is increasing with the aging of the population.
ABOUT ST2
ST2 is a soluble protein expressed by the heart in response to disease or injury. It is reflective of ventricular remodeling and cardiac fibrosis associated with heart failure. ST2 is not adversely affected by confounding factors such as age, body mass index and impaired renal function. ST2 levels change quickly in response to changes in the patient’s condition—thus helping physicians make informed decisions on an appropriate course of action to take and, if needed, to quickly adjust care.
ABOUT CRITICAL DIAGNOSTICS
Critical Diagnostics (www.criticaldiagnostics.com) develops novel biomarkers to help physicians optimize patient care in cardiovascular diseases, while containing healthcare costs. Critical Diagnostics has distribution partners in some 50 countries, covering two-thirds of the world’s population.
ABOUT THE HEART FAILURE ASSOCIATION
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) represents more than 80,000 cardiology professionals across Europe and the Mediterranean. Its mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease in Europe. The Heart Failure Association (HFA) is a registered branch of the ESC. Its aim is to improve quality of life and longevity, through better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart failure, including the establishment of networks for its management, education and research.
For More Information, Contact:
Dennis Dalangin, VP Marketing
Telephone: +1 (877) 700-1250
Email: ddalangin@criticaldiagnostics.com
