Waltham, MA— BG Medicine, Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc., a division of Siemens Healthcare, one of the world’s largest suppliers of clinical diagnostics to the healthcare industry, for the development and commercialization of a galectin-3 test for Siemens’ automated immunoassay platforms for clinical laboratories.
The automated Siemens galectin-3 assay will offer laboratories a convenient way to measure galectin-3 in plasma or serum. The BG Medicine manual galectin-3 assay was recently cleared by the FDA as an aid in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure. Elevated galectin-3 levels are associated with an inherently progressive form of heart failure that is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization or death.
“Galectin-3-mediated cardiac fibrosis is proving to be an important underlying condition in certain patients with chronic heart failure, and studies suggest that at least 30% of patients with chronic heart failure may have this form of the disease,”
noted Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine.
“This partnership with Siemens will allow the many hospitals around the world that rely on Siemens instruments for their laboratory operations to meet the demand for galectin-3 testing using existing systems and workflow.”
“Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics is committed to the development of new and novel markers to aid in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. We are very excited to be partnering with BG Medicine to develop the Galectin-3 biomarker for our platforms, which we believe will be important in advancing the tools available to clinicians to diagnose and manage heart failure,”
said Dave Hickey, CEO, Chemistry/Immunoassay, Automation and Diagnostics IT Business Unit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.
Under the agreement, Siemens will be responsible for the development of the test in accordance with certain plans and milestones, and Siemens and BG Medicine will collaborate in support of development of the test and regulatory filings.
This agreement with Siemens follows BG Medicine’s execution of similar agreements in 2009 and 2010 for the development and commercialization of automated galectin-3 assays with other diagnostic laboratory instrument manufacturers, including Abbott, Alere (formerly Inverness Medical), and bioMérieux.
About Siemens Healthcare
The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology, and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source—from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better, and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2010 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.4 billion euros and profit of around 750 million euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.
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.