Ultrasound Imaging Enhanced by Acusphere's AI-700 Shows Potential to Improve Coronary Artery Disease Diagnosis.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

SEATTLE--(BW HealthWire)--July 19, 2001

Researchers present data at American Society of Echocardiography 

Meeting

Research data presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) suggests that ultrasound imaging enhanced with AI-700, a contrast agent under development by Acusphere, Inc., can detect reductions in blood flow to the heart and provide information comparable to nuclear medicine techniques. Blood flow to the heart muscle, called myocardial perfusion, may be reduced in the presence of coronary artery disease and is considered one of the most sensitive indicators of heart disease, which kills more than half a million Americans each year. Ultrasound without contrast cannot detect myocardial perfusion. Ultrasound imaging enhanced with AI-700 has the potential to significantly reduce the cost, time, and resources necessary to evaluate myocardial perfusion, but still provide the same clinical information as nuclear medicine, the current standard noninvasive imaging technique. About 6 million nuclear myocardial perfusion studies are performed annually in the U.S. The Company estimates that ultrasound imaging would reduce the cost of these perfusion studies by up to three-fold.

Two presentations on a Phase II trial to investigate the use of AI-700 with ultrasound imaging of myocardial perfusion were given at the ASE's 12th Annual Scientific Sessions. Michael Picard, M.D., Director, Clinical Echocardiography, Massachusetts General Hospital and Assoc. Prof. of Medicine, Harvard Medical School presented the results of a study entitled "The Effects of Echo-Contrast Perfusion and/or Wall Motion Imaging on Detection of Perfusion Defects in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease." Neil Weissman, M.D., Director of Cardiac Ultrasound, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Washington Hospital Center and Associate Professor of Medicine, Georgetown Medical School presented "Comparison of Myocardial Contrast Echo to 99m Tc MIBI SPECT in Patients with Myocardial Perfusion Defects: A Phase II Study of AI-700".

"The results from this study show very high concordance between ultrasound imaging using AI-700 and nuclear medicine techniques for the assessment of myocardial perfusion in patients with prior myocardial infarction," said Dr. Picard. "This suggests that AI-700-enhanced echocardiograms could give physicians perfusion information comparable to nuclear medicine scans."

Dr. Weissman commented, "We found that AI-700 was easy to use, requiring one simple injection, and provided prolonged myocardial enhancement, thus allowing the time needed for assessment of myocardial imaging. This allowed us to accurately detect myocardial perfusion in patients with coronary artery disease."

"Our goal at Acusphere is to offer physicians and patients a cost-effective, easy-to-use, and accessible alternative to more expensive and time consuming techniques for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease," commented Sherri C. Oberg, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that the results of this Phase II clinical trial show that we have met our initial goal of successfully demonstrating the utility of AI-700 in imaging myocardial perfusion in patients. We have shown excellent agreement with nuclear perfusion studies with a product that should be easy for the physician to use. As a result, we have already moved our clinical program forward to study a broader patient population, including those at earlier stages of disease."

Acusphere's ultrasound contrast agent, AI-700, consists of small, hollow microparticles filled with gas. The composition and structure of the outer shell and the properties of the gas were engineered to slow the rate at which the microparticles disappear from the bloodstream. This is intended to allow longer perfusion imaging times, and clearer, more informative pictures of the heart.

Acusphere, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops new drugs and reformulations of existing drugs using its proprietary small, porous microparticle drug delivery technology. The company's product candidates are designed to address large, unmet clinical needs in the areas of cardiology, oncology and respiratory disease. Acusphere's lead product candidate, AI-700, is an ultrasound contrast agent in a Phase II trial for the detection of coronary artery disease. Its second product candidate, AI-850, is in preclinical studies for the reformulation of the cancer chemotherapy drug, paclitaxel. Additionally, Acusphere is collaborating with Elan Corporation to develop and commercialize product candidates using pulmonary delivery in the area of respiratory disease.