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 study evaluating outcomes in 1,653 heart failure patients assessed with its BGM Galectin-3 blood test were presented at the 15th Annual Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) in Boston, Mass. The study investigated the significance of changes in the level of the protein galectin-3 and risk of subsequent mortality and morbidity in heart failure patients in up to 3 years of follow-up. Results of the study included the finding that heart failure patients whose galectin-3 levels increased by more than ten percent over the course of 3 to 6 months, a change seen in approximately one-fifth of the patients studied, had a mortality and morbidity rate that was approximately 60% higher than that for the patients in the study with stable levels of galectin-3. In the study, levels of the protein galectin-3 in blood were measured using the BGM Galectin-3 test, which was recently cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The results of the study were featured in a presentation entitled, "Changes in Galectin-3 Levels Over Time Predict Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure," presented by Rudolf de Boer, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
"Galectin-3 is associated with mortality and morbidity in heart failure patients, and this study set out to examine how frequent changes in galectin-3 occur and what the consequences of these changes are," said Prof. de Boer. "Approximately one-fifth of all patients in the study had changes in galectin-3 blood levels. For those patients whose galectin-3 levels increased over time, the mortality and morbidity rates were significantly increased, while for those whose galectin-3 levels decreased over time, the mortality and morbidity rates were substantially lower."
"Generally, galectin-3 levels are relatively stable over extended periods, but this study demonstrates that changes in galectin-3 levels are of clinical importance if they do occur," said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine. "These results suggest that periodic galectin-3 testing in patients with chronic heart failure is useful to identify those whose risk profile may have changed over time."
The authors of the study are Rudolf A. de Boer, MD, PhD; Dirk J. van Veldhuisen, MD, PhD; Lars Gullestad, MD; Thor Ueland, PhD; Pal Aukrust, MD, PhD; Aram S. Adourian, PhD; Yu Guo, PhD; and Pieter Muntendam, MD. The full presentation, "Changes in Galectin-3 Values Over Time Predict Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure," 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 identify changes over time in mortality and morbidity rates of 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.