Dubai News Today: 2011 A Record Year for Accumetrics and Platelet Reactivity Testing

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

2011 A Record Year for Accumetrics and Platelet Reactivity Testing

Company Poised to Capitalize on Four Published Guideline Recommendations, New Clinical Data, CE-Marked Prognostic Claim and Generic Clopidogrel in 2012

SAN DIEGO - Wednesday, December 21st 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Accumetrics, Inc., developer of the VerifyNow® System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, closes 2011 with strong support regarding the clinical value of measuring response to antiplatelet therapy. The Company also achieved several important milestones during 2011, including significant revenue growth over 2010, an expanded installed base worldwide, and a CE marked prognostic claim for its VerifyNow P2Y12 Test.

In 2011, four new published Guidelinesincluded recommendations about platelet reactivity testing for patients on antiplatelet therapy: ACCF/AHA about UA/NSTEMI patients1, ACCF/AHA/SCAI about PCI patients2, ESC about NSTE-ACS patients3, and STS/SCA about surgical patients4. Included in the guidelines are recommendations that address treatment strategies based on platelet reactivity.

Throughout the year, new clinical data was published underscoring the value of platelet reactivity testing, including a pharmacodynamic analysis from the GRAVITAS trial indicating that low platelet reactivity was significantly associated with a lower risk of adverse cardiovascular events5. Also published was a 3,000+ patient meta-analysis demonstrating that patients with high platelet reactivity exhibited more than twice the rate of death, heart attack and stent thrombosis6.

Accumetrics strengthened its position as a global diagnostic leader by achieving CE marking outside the US for its VerifyNow P2Y12 Test for prognostic use in identifying patients with high residual platelet reactivity on antiplatelet therapy who are at greater risk for future cardiovascular events.

"2011 has been an important year for understanding the role of platelet reactivity testing in clinical practice,” said Matthew J. Price, MD, of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA. "Reported findings in multiple abstract presentations and published studies, consisting in total of more than 20,000 patients, continue to confirm the strong association between high platelet reactivity and the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events, including stent thrombosis, after PCI. The 2011 guidelines now include the consideration for platelet reactivity testing in managing patients with ACS and/or PCI. Upon this foundation, we are now entering the era of generic clopidogrel, which will markedly change the cost dynamics of antiplatelet therapy. All of this emphasizes the emerging impact of platelet reactivity testing to help the physician provide the best care of our higher risk PCI patients."

Accumetrics experienced solid growth in 2011 across all of its sales channels. The Company expects to conclude the year with roughly $21 million in annual revenue, and an expanded installed base. The VerifyNow System is used clinically by physicians in over 700 facilities in the United States and over 70 countries worldwide where antiplatelet medications are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of future thrombotic events such as heart attack and stroke.

“With the advent of generic clopidogrel in the US in 2012, healthcare providers and payers alike will be seeking the most cost effective and clinically appropriate antiplatelet therapy for individual patients,” said Timothy I. Still, President and CEO of Accumetrics. “Accumetrics is pleased to offer an innovative and cost-effective point-of-care solution that addresses the need for clinicians to better understand the effect of their treatment decisions, ultimately benefitting public health.”

About Accumetrics

Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.

Accumetrics’ VerifyNow System is the first rapid and easy-to-use platform to help physicians determine an individual’s response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors (e.g. prasugrel (Effient®) and clopidogrel (Plavix®)), and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors (e.g. ReoPro® and Integrilin®), the VerifyNow System provides valuable information to help physicians make informed treatment decisions. The VerifyNow P2Y12 Test is a whole blood assay used in the laboratory or point of care setting to measure the level of platelet P2Y12 receptor blockade. Additionally, it is indicated outside the US for evaluating the risk for recurrent events in cardiovascular patients.

For more information about the Company and its products, visit www.accumetrics.com.

The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc. ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of Bristol Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership. Effient is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.

1Wright RS, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2011; 57:1920-1959 2 Levine, GN. et al. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. Published online Nov 7, 2011; doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2011.08.007 3 Hamm, CW. et al. Eur Heart J(2011) first published online August 26, 2011 doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehr236 4 Ferraris, VA. et al. Ann Thorac Surg. 2011 Mar;91(3):944-82 5 Price, MJ. et al Circulation. 2011;124:1132-1137 6 Brar, S et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2011;58:1945–54