WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGMD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of novel biomarker-based diagnostics, announced today that results from a meta-analysis of three heart failure cohorts comprising 892 patients were presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) in Boston, Mass. The study investigated the ability of galectin-3 blood levels in heart failure patients to predict the likelihood of near-term unplanned hospital re-admission for heart failure. The study demonstrated that heart failure patients who had elevated galectin-3 levels at the time of initial discharge from the hospital or emergency department for heart failure were hospitalized again for heart failure in the subsequent 90 days at a rate that was two to three times higher than for the patients in the study with lower galectin-3 levels. The data were featured in a presentation entitled, "Plasma Galectin-3 is Associated With Near-term Rehospitalization in Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis," presented by Rudolf de Boer, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Galectin-3 levels in the study were measured using the BGM Galectin-3 test, a novel blood test recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The study included heart failure patients from three cohorts: the Coordinating Study Evaluating Outcomes of Advising and Counseling in Heart Failure (COACH) study, the Pro-BNP Investigation of Dyspnea in the Emergency Department (PRIDE) study and the University of Maryland Pro-BNP for Diagnosis and Prognosis in Patients Presenting with Dyspnea study. All study patients were enrolled, and blood samples obtained, upon presentation to an emergency department or upon discharge for a heart failure-related hospital stay. The results indicated that patients with galectin-3 levels above 17.8 ng/mL at enrollment were significantly more likely to be rehospitalized in the near-term after initial discharge.
"Reducing rehospitalizations for heart failure patients has become one of the healthcare priorities," said Dr. James L. Januzzi of Massachusetts General Hospital. "These results suggest that measuring galectin-3 in the hospital may offer clinicians, hospitals and payors the opportunity to identify patients at highest risk for re-admission and tailor their interventions to offer those at highest risk the most advanced interventions."
"The BGM Galectin-3 test is a different kind of heart failure test," said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine. "Galectin-3 levels are generally stable during hospitalization for heart failure, which allows for the use of a convenient and simple single cut-point to determine risk for re-admission, regardless of whether testing is conducted upon admission, during or at discharge from a hospital stay for heart failure."
Authors of the study are Rudolf A. de Boer, MD, PhD and Dirk J. van Veldhuisen, MD, PhD of the University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Christopher deFilippi, MD of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; Pieter Muntendam, MD, Aram S. Adourian, PhD, and Yu Guo, PhD, of BG Medicine, Inc., Waltham, Mass. and James L. Januzzi, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass. The full presentation, "Plasma Galectin-3 is Associated With Near-term Rehospitalization in Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis" is available: click here.
About Galectin-3 and Heart Failure
Galectin-3 is a unique carbohydrate-binding lectin, or protein, that binds to carbohydrates called beta-galactosides. Galectin-3 has been implicated in a variety of biological processes important in the development and progression of heart failure, and is believed to be a primary mediator of progressive cardiac fibrosis (abnormal thickening and stiffening of the heart muscle) and adverse remodeling (changes in the structure of the heart). Higher levels of galectin-3 are associated with a more aggressive form of heart failure and 30% or more of mild to moderate heart failure patients will have elevated levels of galectin-3. Heart failure affects an estimated 5.8 million Americans, with approximately 670,000 new cases occurring each year. The direct and indirect cost of heart failure in the United States for 2010 is estimated to be $39.2 billion.
About BG Medicine, Inc.
BG Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGMD) is a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel, biomarker-based diagnostics to improve patient outcomes and contain healthcare costs. The Company recently launched the BGM Galectin-3TM test for use in patients with heart failure, the first novel blood test for cardiac disease cleared by the U.S. F.D.A. in five years. BG Medicine also has products in development to aid in the diagnosis and management of acute atherothrombosis and lipid disorders. For additional information about BG Medicine, heart failure and galectin-3 testing, please visit www.bg-medicine.com and www.galectin-3.com.
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Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements made in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements in this news release address our expectations concerning the role that galectin-3 plays in heart failure, cardiovascular disease and mortality, our beliefs regarding the importance of galectin-3 testing to predict near-term rehospitalization in patients with heart failure, our beliefs regarding the importance of the galectin-3 data presented at HFSA, and our expectations regarding the impact of the galectin-3 data on the sales and marketing of our galectin-3 diagnostic tests. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.