A biotechnology company’s licensing deal for a radiopharmaceutical could make it easier to diagnoseacute coronary syndrome in cases that might otherwise go undiagnosed or be diagnosed too late.

Molecular Targeting Technologies acquired the license for the radiopharmaceutical diagnostic imaging agent from the Medical College of Wisconsin, according to a company statement. It is used in the field of nuclear medicine.

Acute coronary syndrome is used to describe any condition brought on by sudden, reduced blood flow to the heart. Although it can include the chest pain experienced duing a heart attack it can also describe unstable angina.

Although 15 million patients go to the emergency room complaining of chest pain suggestive of heart attack, diagnosing the cause of the pain can be complicated and fraught with errors, according to a company statement. The imaging technology is intended for the 10 percent to 20 percent of these patients that are especially tough to diagnose because they have no clear indications of what’s causing the chest pain. More accurate diagnostic imaging technology could help trim hospital costs by reducing the number of hospitalizations.

The West Chester, Pennsylvania company has two imaging technologies in phase 2 development. Amiscan is being developed to diagnose acute myocardial infarction, an umbrella term for a spectrum of life-threatening disorders associated with the heart. It is also being developed to detect breast tumors under the name BTscan. In addition to other imaging products in preclinical development, the company is also developing a treatment against rabies after exposure to the disease currently in phase 1 development.

 

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