BG Medicine Inc. launches Galectin-3 Website and Commences Galectin-3 Assay Service - Gilde Healthcare

BG Medicine Inc. launches Galectin-3 Website and Commences Galectin-3 Assay Service

March 31, 2009

WALTHAM, Mass. – (BUSINESS WIRE) – BG Medicine Inc. (BGM), a developer of novel, biomarker-based diagnostic products, today announced the launch of the Galectin-3 Website (www.galectin-3.com) which will provide an array of research materials associated with galectin-3.

Galectins are a unique class of proteins with a relatively high affinity for specific carbohydrate compounds. Upon the tight specific binding between carbohydrate and protein, galectins display certain profound biological effects. Galectins were first described in 1994 and to date, 15 members have been identified. Accruing evidence indicates that galectins are important immunoregulatory mediators and research in the role of galectins in health and disease is rapidly increasing resulting in a new article about galectins in the scientific literature approximately every 24hrs. In particular, Galectin-3 is attracting strong interest from the scientific community with regard to its role in cardiac disease and cancer.

Users of the galectin-3 website can easily navigate to informational resources such as PubMed, which provides access to galectin-3 citations from biomedical literature, certain full-text articles, and other web-based resources.

BG Medicine has developed a new optimized assay for measurement of galectin-3 in plasma or serum and anticipates clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European authorities later in 2009 for clinical use.

BG Medicine also announced today the launch of a galectin-3 assay service for research purposes only. Researchers interested in submitting study samples for galectin-3 analysis can order such services from the galectin-3 website.

“Galectin-3 is one of the rare culprit biomarkers” said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine.

“Measurement in plasma provides important information about a disease process, while experimental research has demonstrated that administration of galectin-3 can actually induce the pathology. Most biomarkers we know are bystander biomarkers – one cannot induce the condition by administering the biomarker. We expect that the availability of a robust assay will markedly accelerate our understanding of the role of galectin-3 in disease and how we can take advantage of
this for improved treatment outcomes.”

About BG Medicine

BG Medicine is pioneer in the area of biomarker-guided medicine with a focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel molecular diagnostics based on biomarkers to improve patient outcomes and contain healthcare costs. BG Medicine discovers biomarkers and is developing its diagnostic product candidates using its proprietary, versatile, and scalable technology platform which integrates and automates the precise measurement, analysis, characterization and interpretation of proteins, and metabolites collected from bodily fluids.

Gilde Healthcare invests in German precision surgical instruments contract manufacturer Koscher & Würtz

The acquisition of Koscher & Würtz represents a major step for Gilde Healthcare in forming a market leading instrument contract manufacturing group, following its initial investment in Chr. Diener, less than 18 months ago. Koscher...
November 20, 2023

Gilde Healthcare closes new Venture&Growth fund at €740 million hard cap

Gilde Healthcare Venture&Growth VI closes at its hard cap with €740 million from a balanced mix of international investors Gilde Healthcare invests in fast growing companies that enable better care at lower cost, supported by...
November 15, 2023

Gilde Healthcare company SpliceBio enters $216 million Gene Therapy collaboration with Spark Therapeutics

SpliceBio is eligible to receive upfront, opt-in and milestone payments up to $216 million plus royalties Spark secures exclusive worldwide rights to SpliceBio’s proprietary Protein Splicing platform to develop, manufacture, and commercialize a gene therapy...
October 17, 2023