Healthcare Industry News: Response Biomedical
News Release - June 12, 2007
Response Biomedical Receives Approval to Market NT-proBNP Congestive Heart Failure Marker Test in Canada
VANCOUVER, June 12 (HSMN NewsFeed) - Response Biomedical Corporation (TSX-V: RBM, OTCBB: RPBIF) today announced that it has been granted a medical device license by Health Canada to market its RAMPO NT-proBNP Test. Measurement of NT-proBNP aids in the diagnosis and assessment of severity in individuals suspected of having congestive heart failure (CHF) and may aid in the risk stratification of patients with acute coronary syndrome and heart failure. This allows the Company to market, in Canada, diagnostic tests for a full line of cardiac markers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and congestive heart failure (CHF). The Company currently markets the product in Europe and has applied for FDA clearance of the test in the United States."We are very pleased to receive country of origin approval to market the NT-proBNP test in Canada," said Bill Radvak, President and CEO. "We have been able to offer a comprehensive line of AMI diagnostics, including Troponin I, CK-MB and Myoglobin, and the addition of NT-proBNP for CHF should heighten interest in our cardiovascular product line."
About CHF
CHF impedes the ability of the heart to pump blood at a rate sufficient to support the body's vital needs. CHF affects nearly 17 million people worldwide, and is the single most frequent cause of hospitalization in people over 65 years. The initial diagnosis of CHF is problematic as symptoms can be associated with other pathologies such as respiratory disease and the secondary effects of obesity. According to the Canadian Heart and Stoke Foundation, doctors estimate that there are 200,000 - 300,000 Canadians with heart failure. Since 1970, the number of Canadians dying from congestive heart failure has increased sixty per cent. According to the American Heart Association, approximately five million Americans are currently afflicted with CHF and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The prevalence of CHF is expected to continue increasing due to the aging population and improved survival rates of patients with other cardiovascular diseases.
About NT-proBNP
NT-proBNP is widely recognized as a definitive marker for the diagnosis of CHF. NT-proBNP is cleaved from the precursor peptide proBNP in quantities directly proportional to its biologically active counterpart BNP and in close correlation with the severity of heart failure. BNP is secreted primarily from the left ventricle in response to pressure overload and regulates blood pressure, electrolyte balance and fluid volume. BNP acts to reduce the pressure overload. Elevated levels of NT-proBNP indicate the presence of heart failure, and provide physicians with an important diagnostic tool in the early detection and management of CHF. Independent published studies show that NT-proBNP is also valuable for: risk stratification of patients with stable coronary heart disease, as a prognostic marker across the entire spectrum of cardiovascular diseases, potentially detecting early stages of CHF in the absence of clinically obvious symptoms, and for the assessment of prognosis for patients with CHF and for patients who have previously had a myocardial infarction (references available upon request).
About Response Biomedical
Response Biomedical develops, manufactures and markets rapid on-site diagnostic tests for use with its portable RAMP Platform for clinical and environmental applications. RAMP represents a new paradigm in diagnostics that provides high sensitivity and reliable information in minutes. It is ideally suited to both point-of-care testing and laboratory use. The RAMP system consists of a portable fluorescent reader and single-use disposable test cartridges, and has the potential to be adapted to more than 250 medical and non-medical tests currently performed in laboratories. RAMP clinical tests are commercially available for the early detection of heart attack and congestive heart failure.
In late 2006, the Company announced a strategic alliance with 3M Company to commercialize rapid infectious disease tests.
In the non-clinical market, RAMP Tests are currently provided for the environmental detection of West Nile Virus, and biodefense applications including the rapid on-site detection of anthrax, smallpox, ricin and botulinum toxin. Several other product applications are under development. The Company has achieved CE Marking and its Quality Management System is registered to ISO 13485: 2003 and ISO 9001: 2000.
Response Biomedical is a publicly traded company, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol "RBM" and quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "RPBIF". For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.responsebio.com.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Statements contained in this press release relating to future results, events or developments, for example, statements containing the words "believes," "may," "could", "plans," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipates," "intends," "expects", "goal" and similar expressions, are "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" under applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our planned activities, business plan and strategies and their future implementation, and our expectations for our financial condition and the results of, or outlook for, our business operations generally. Forward-looking statements or information are subject to the related assumptions made by us and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements or information.
Many of such risks, uncertainties and other factors form part of our underlying assumptions, and include, among other things, our need for substantial additional funding to conduct research and development and commercialization activities; our ability to establish, and our dependence upon, relationships with strategic alliance partners to develop and commercialize products; technological changes that impact our existing products or our ability to develop and commercialize our products; our ability to obtain and enforce timely patent and other intellectual property protection for our technology and products; our ability to obtain and maintain rights to technology from licensors; commercialization limitations imposed by patents owned or controlled by third parties; our ability to retain, and our reliance upon, third party suppliers, manufacturers and distributors; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage the planned growth of our operations; our ability to obtain, and the timing of, necessary regulatory approvals; our ability to profitably sell our products at prices that would be acceptable to third-party reimbursement programs; market acceptance of our products and the size of our markets; changes in business strategy or development plans; changes in, or the failure to comply with, governmental regulations; and other factors referenced in our annual report on Form 20-F and other filings with Canadian and United States securities regulatory authorities.
Given these uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements or information. We disclaim any obligation to update, or to publicly announce any revisions to, any such statements or information to reflect future results, events or developments.
Source: Response Biomedical
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