KIRKLAND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prevencio, Inc. today announced the publication of data which demonstrates that a simple, new blood test is more accurate than evaluating commonly-used risk factors in determining whether a person will have a heart attack, stroke or major cardiac event. Researchers believe the data, published in the American Journal of Cardiology (AJC), could revolutionize how doctors identify patients—not only higher-risk patients who need aggressive treatment, but also lower-risk patients who could avoid expensive and invasive procedures.
In the study, researchers tested patients’ blood for more than 100 proteins at Myriad RBM and then developed and validated a multi-protein blood test, HART CVE, to predict a patient’s one-year risk of having a heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death.
Principal Investigator James L. Januzzi, MD, a practicing cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, led a team of researchers who tested more than 900 subjects for the occurrence of a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death within one year. When the test score was divided into low-risk and high-risk categories, the test was 97% accurate (negative predictive value) at determining a low-risk patient would not have a heart attack or major cardiac event within one year.
“This new risk score test provides improved accuracy as compared to clinical risk factors and could be particularly useful for those patients with suspected or known stable heart disease, for which there are very few prognostic risk models,” said Januzzi. “In addition to leading to more appropriate care of patients, it could also have a role in ‘enriching’ pharmaceutical cardiac clinical trials, which could lead to lower trial costs and reduced time to complete clinical trials.”
The new blood test also outperforms other clinical risk assessments such as the Euro Heart Score and the TMAO test, which uses a metabolite found in the intestine and has been associated with major cardiovascular events. The test could also be used to aid scientific research in the future, helping to identify higher-risk patients for pharmaceutical trials and potentially saving millions of dollars in trial costs.
Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, the U.S. spends approximately $316 billion annually on CV disease and stroke, or approximately 10% of the total healthcare budget. Spending is expected to jump to $918 billion annually by 2030, with more than 40% of adults having CV disease.
“Prevencio’s use of Myriad RBM’s multi-analyte profiling DiscoveryMAP® services to measure these important blood-based biomarkers was ideal,” said Ralph McDade, President of Myriad RBM. “The treatment of cardiovascular disease, like many conditions, will benefit from approaches that rely on the combination of multiple biomarkers to develop new applications for unmet clinical needs.”
“Prevencio is very pleased to partner with Myriad RBM and Massachusetts General Hospital’s renowned team of dedicated researchers to find safer, more accurate and more affordable ways to identify and treat millions of cardiac patients,” said Rhonda Rhyne, Chief Executive Officer of Prevencio. “It is rewarding to be at the forefront of improving cardiovascular care.”
In addition to the HART CVE test, Prevencio is developing HART CAD, a blood test for diagnosing coronary artery obstruction that is more accurate than standard exercise or stress tests. The company is also looking to expand beyond HART CVE and HART CAD tests.
The HART CVE and HART CAD tests will potentially be available to medical professionals for use by 2018; Prevencio is in discussion with multiple potential partners.
About Prevencio, Inc.:
Prevencio’s mission is to prevent the preventable - improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs by preventing unnecessary cardiac procedures and procedure-related side effects, as well as predicting — and hopefully thereby preventing — one year adverse cardiac events. The company is a pioneer in diagnostic and predictive tests for cardiovascular disease and related adverse events. Prevencio’s proprietary HART™ CAD and HART™ CVE Tests are leading the way in the proteomics era of improving cardiac medical care. The company is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington. For additional information on Prevencio, visit www.PrevencioMed.com. Prevencio—Preventing the Preventable.™
Forward-Looking (Safe Harbor) Statement:
Except for historical and factual information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements, such as market need, acceptance, size, potential, and penetration rates, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to uncertainties and risks including the Company’s sole dependence on HART technology and various uncertainties characteristic of development-stage companies. The Company does not undertake to update the disclosures contained in this press release.
