SAN DIEGO, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Accumetrics, Inc. a privately-held
medical device company and maker of the VerifyNow(R) family of tests that
measure patient response to antiplatelet drugs, announced today that it has
raised $28.8 million in its Series D financing. The syndicate was led by
Arnerich Massena & Associates, Inc. and BBT Fund, L.P. Also participating
in the round were previous investors: Essex Woodland Health Ventures,
RiverVest, PTV Sciences, KB Partners and Kaiser Permanente Ventures.
"We feel Accumetrics will play a major role in personalized medicine by
reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and improving patient
well-being. The company is late stage; they have a patented technology
platform, multiple reimbursed and FDA cleared products that provide useful
information to assist physicians in their care of patients regarding
antiplatelet medications. This financing also supports a major clinical
trial to link individualized therapy to improved clinical outcomes," said
Anthony Arnerich, President and CEO, Arnerich Massena and Associates, Inc.
Because millions of patients are prescribed Plavix(R) and aspirin to
lower the risk of coronary heart disease worldwide, the need to tailor
antiplatelet therapy and improve clinical outcome is significant. Under the
direction of the Scripps Advanced Clinical Trials center, Accumetrics is
sponsoring a 6000 patient, multi-center trial, called GRAVITAS (Gauging
Responsiveness With A VerifyNow Assay-Impact On Thrombosis And Safety) to
establish platelet function testing with VerifyNow as the standard of care.
The Executive Committee comprises a group of nationally recognized
physicians in the field of cardiology and includes Matthew Price, MD
(Principal Investigator), Eric Topol, MD, Paul Teirstein, MD, and
Christopher Cannon, MD.
"The GRAVITAS trial, using VerifyNow to gauge patients' response is
prototypic of the future of individualized medicine," said Matthew Price,
MD, Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla,
California. "Not everyone responds the same way to current anti-platelet
medications, so why should we treat our patients as if they did? The
results of this trial will help physicians make clinical decisions to
maximize safety and improve outcomes for a large number of patients taking
anti-platelet therapy."
"Completion of this $28.8 million financing enables us to initiate the
GRAVITAS study and positions the company for commercial success," said
Steven Frankel, CEO. "This financing is recognition of the steady progress
we've made focusing on surgical procedures where platelet function testing
has immediate clinical relevance and gives us an excellent foundation in
the hospital setting. We believe the results of the GRAVITAS trial will
establish the VerifyNow system as a routine diagnostic tool."
About Accumetrics (http://www.accumetrics.com)
Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of
platelets and enhancing quality of care for patients at a risk of
cardiovascular disease by providing industry-leading diagnostic tests for
platelet function assessment.
VerifyNow is the first, simple and accurate system for measuring the
individual response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major
antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, Plavix(R),
ReoPro(R), and Integrilin(R), the VerifyNow system provides a valuable tool
to help guide treatment decisions.
CONTACT: Steven Frankel, 858-404-8201, sfrankel@accumetrics.com.
SOURCE Accumetrics, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.accumetrics.com
CONTACT:
Steven Frankel of Accumetrics, Inc.,
+1-858-404-8201, sfrankel@accumetrics.com
|
