ST. LOUIS and SAN DIEGO, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire -- Mallinckrodt Inc.
(NYSE: MKG) and Molecular Biosystems, Inc. (NYSE: MB) reported today that
OPTISON*, the world's first and only commercially available next-generation
cardiac ultrasound contrast imaging agent, will be the subject of several
presentations at EuroEcho 2, the Working Group on Echocardiography Scientific
Meeting, in Trieste, Italy this week. This meeting brings together physicians
from around the world to discuss the latest developments in echocardiography.
(* OPTISON is a trademark of Mallinckrodt Inc.)
Topics to be addressed in the OPTISON abstracts presented at the meeting
include results of studies on the use of the ultrasound contrast agent for
endocardial border delineation (EBD), left ventricular opacification (LVO) and
myocardial perfusion. OPTISON is currently under investigation for myocardial
perfusion indications.
"Based on the incremental value of using OPTISON for LVO and EBD at peak
treadmill exercise, we have seen an improvement of at least 10 percent in the
positive predictive value of our tests," stated James E. Macioch, M.D.,
Associate Director, Echocardiography, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical
Center, Chicago, Ill. "The value has led to increased accuracy, decreased
need for follow-up invasive testing, improved inter- and intra-reader
variability in the interpretation of stress echo testing and overall cost
savings."
Arthur Labovitz, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Saint Louis University,
St. Louis, Mo., said, "This work has helped firmly establish contrast
echocardiography in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Visualization of the endocardium in stress is one of the most common uses for
ultrasound. Our recent work in stress echo has given us the confidence to use
OPTISON as an aid in assessing the endocardium in our difficult-to-image
patients."
Bradley J. Fercho, president of Mallinckrodt's Imaging Group, said,
"OPTISON's key strengths -- specifically safety, efficacy and ease of
use -- have been well received in the marketplace." At present, OPTISON is
being used commercially in more than 1,000 hospitals and cardiology group
practices throughout the United States, Germany, Austria, Spain and the U.K.
to aid in the detection of heart disease.
More than 15 million cardiac ultrasound procedures are performed annually
in the United States and Europe. Physicians estimate that up to 20 percent of
these exams are technically difficult and provide less than optimal
information for clinical decision making. OPTISON is specifically indicated
for use in patients with suboptimal echocardiograms to opacify the left
ventricle and to improve the delineation of the left ventricular endocardial
borders.
Among the OPTISON abstracts to be presented are:
1. "Bolus Injection of OPTISON at Peak Treadmill Exercise Allows for
Timely Determination of Endocardial Border Delineation on
Echocardiography," Macioch, J.E.; Donoghue, J.; Schwartz, M.D.;
Holoviak, M.; Sandelski, J.; Feinstein, S.B.; Rush Medical College,
Chicago, Illinois, USA.
2. "Percutaneous Laser Revascularization Improves Perfusion in Treated
Myocardial Segments as Demonstrated by Myocardial Contrast
Echocardiography with OPTISON," Macioch, J.E.; Schaer, G.L.; Snell,
R.J.; Sandelski, J.; Hursey, T.L.; Oesterle, S.N.; Ostic, T.A.;
Feinstein, S.B.; Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, USA
3. "Effect of Second Generation Contrast Agent OPTISON on Enhancement of
Pulmonary Vein Doppler Signal," M.S. Dolan, J. Cheirif, J. Cohen, D.
Segar, L. Gillam, S. Feinstein, C. Dick, A. Villanueva, A.J.
Labovitz, USA
4. "Comparison of Harmonic Power, Harmonic and Fundamental Imaging with
Echo Contrast on Left Ventricular Opacification," M.S. Dolan, S. Puri,
J. Flanagan, J.A. St. Vrain, E. Havens, A.J. Labovitz, Saint Louis
University, USA
5. "Effect of OPTISON on Endocardial Visualization and Accuracy of
Ejection Fraction Determination during Stress Echocardiography," M.S.
Dolan, J.A. St. Vrain, S. Puri, J. Flanagan, E. Havens, K. Habermehl,
A.J. Labovitz, Saint Louis University, USA
6. "Comparison of Myocardial Contrast Echocardiography with Tc99m SPECT
in Assessment of Segmental Myocardial Perfusion," M.S. Dolan, S. Puri,
M.D. Wittry, J.A .St. Vrain, J. Flanagan, A.J. Labovitz, Saint Louis
University, USA
7. "Quantitative Assessment of Myocardial Perfusion and Its Relationship
to Wall Thickening During Dobutamine Echocardiography with OPTISON,"
M.S. Dolan, A.J. Labovitz, S. Puri, J.A. St. Vrain, J. Flanagan, T.
Bransford, Saint Louis University, USA
Molecular Biosystems, based in San Diego, Calif., is a world leader in the
development and commercialization of ultrasound contrast agents for diagnostic
imaging. The company's innovative product, OPTISON, enables improved
diagnosis of heart disease through clearer ultrasound images. Information
about MBI may be obtained via fax by calling 888-329-4007 (toll-free) or via
the Internet by pointing your browser to http://www.mobi.com.
Based in St. Louis, Mo., Mallinckrodt Inc. has three healthcare products
groups -- Imaging, Pharmaceuticals and Respiratory. The company operates in
more than 100 countries and had fiscal 1998 net sales of $2.4 billion. The
Mallinckrodt web site address is http://www.mallinckrodt.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. Among the factors that could result in a materially
different outcome are: the failure of OPTISON to gain market acceptance
either in the United States or other markets; an adverse result in MBI's and
Mallinckrodt's pending patent lawsuits or an adverse ruling by the PTO in the
pending patent reexaminations; and other risk factors reported from time to
time in MBI's and Mallinckrodt's filings with the Securities Exchange
Commission.
SOURCE Mallinckrodt Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.mallinckrodt.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/440950.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 440950
Related links:
http://http://www.mobi.com
CONTACT:
Barbara Abbett, Media, 314-654-5230, or
e-mail, Communications@mkg.com, or Barbara Gould, Investor,
314-654-3190, or e-mail Invest@mkg.com, both of Mallinckrodt Inc.
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