WALTHAM, MA – BG Medicine (NASDAQ: BGMD), a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostics based on biomarkers, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,888,137, entitled “Method For Identifying a Subject at Risk of Developing Heart Failure by Determining the Level of Galectin-3 or Thrombospondin-2” to the University of Maastricht. BG Medicine has an exclusive license to this issued patent, which pertains to galectin-3 testing for individuals at risk for heart failure. The patent term expires in 2026.
“This seminal patent is an important step towards our goal of obtaining broad patent coverage for galectin-3 testing in the area of cardiac disease,”
said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine.
“It has been a remarkable journey from the first discovery of dysregulated galectin-3 in an animal model of heart disease less than a decade ago to FDA clearance of the galectin-3 blood test for clinical use in 2010. We plan to aggressively expand our patent portfolio for this important medical innovation.”
About BG Medicine
BG Medicine is a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostics based on biomarkers to improve patient outcomes and contain healthcare costs. BG Medicine recently launched the galectin-3 test for use in patients with heart failure. The galectin-3 test is the first novelblood test for cardiac disease cleared by the FDA in five years. For additional information about BG Medicine and galectin-3 testing, please visit www.bgmedicine.com and www.galectin-3.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company’s plans to obtain broad patent coverage and expand its patent portfolio for galectin-3 testing. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees of future performance, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: our history of operating losses; our ability to transition into a commercial organization and generate sufficient revenue to sustain our business; our estimates of future performance, including the expected timing of the launch of our products; our ability to conduct the clinical studies required for regulatory clearance or approval and to demonstrate the clinical benefits and costeffectiveness to support commercial acceptance of our products; the timing, costs and other limitations involved in obtaining regulatory clearance or approval for any of our product candidates; the potential benefits of our product candidates over current medical practices or other diagnostics; our ability to successfully develop, receive regulatory clearance or approval, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for any of our products and product candidates; willingness of third-party payors to reimburse for the cost of our tests at prices that allow us to generate sufficient profit margins; our reliance on third parties, including our ability to enter into collaboration agreements with respect to our product candidates and the performance of our collaborative partners under such agreements; our ability to protect our intellectual property and operate our business without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others; the expected timing, progress or success of our research and development and commercialization efforts; our ability to successfully obtain sufficient supplies of samples for our biomarker discovery and development efforts; our estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing; our ability to recruit, hire and retain qualified personnel; and the limited public float and trading volume for our common stock and volatility in our stock price. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by the Company, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Final Prospectus under the heading “Risk Factors” filed with the SEC on February 4, 2011 in connection with the Company’s initial public offering and available on its investor relations website at www.bg-medicine.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.