MissionIR's  Instablog

In 1950, the FBI formally announced their Ten Most Wanted list to the world, in an attempt to promote the identification and capture of the most notorious fugitives. If there were a ten most wanted health list, coronary artery disease (CAD), still the world's #1 killer, would be at the top. Several million people die every year from CAD. In the U.S., it is responsible for approximately one third of all deaths. It's little wonder that the health industry is gunning for CAD in a big way.

However, in spite of huge investments in drugs to fight the disease, it is becoming clear that drugs cannot cure coronary artery disease. Although progress has been made in reducing LDL (sometimes called the "bad" cholesterol, a risk factor for CAD), the fact remains that up to 35% of heart attack patients do not have high blood cholesterol levels, even though most of them have atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). In addition, attempts to use drugs to raise the level of HDL ("good" cholesterol) have proven unsuccessful.

The best weapon to use against CAD remains early diagnosis and diagnostic follow-up, using sophisticated technologies such as positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, the best technology for detecting the subtle biological processes associated with CAD and other diseases. And this is exactly the market targeted by FluoroPharma Medical, developers of advanced tracer chemicals needed to make PET effective. FluoroPharma's two lead products are CardioPET, used for the assessment of myocardial metabolism, and BFPET, used for the assessment of blood flow in CAD patients. They are also developing VasoPET, to be used for the detection of vulnerable plaque in CAD patients.

Studies have shown PET imaging to be cost-effective for CAD management. It can result in a 50% reduction in the use of coronary arteriography and CABG, a 30% reduction in CAD management costs, and excellent short-term patient outcomes, compared with conventional SPECT imaging.

For more information, see the company website at www.FluoroPharma.com

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