Cardiovascular Diseases

THE CHALLENGE

• Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in the world, causing 17.5 million deaths in 2005 (WHO, 2007), which represents approximately 30% of deaths for that year.
• It is estimated that in 2015, cardiovascular diseases will cause nearly 20 million deaths.
• From an economic perspective, these diseases are costly in terms of healthcare spending but also at a broader level: for example, it is estimated that between 2006 and 2015, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes will represent a burden of $558 billion dollars for China’s national income.

OUR RESEARCH

Our strategy is to enable physicians to constantly deliver better diagnoses and prognoses and to monitor cardiac and thromboembolic diseases. Our R&D is aligned with the clinical guidelines established by professional societies.

In this field, current trends are clear: physicians tend not to resort to invasive techniques and treatments that are costly in human and financial terms unless they are certain of their usefulness. This evidence-based medicine follows the credo “do what is necessary, but no more.” The faster the patient is diagnosed, the lighter the treatment will be, which is why diagnostic techniques are increasingly important.

Our work in this field focuses on two main areas:

• The identification and clinical validation of new biomarkers, often in collaboration with partners in the scientific community and industry.
• The development of new tests on bioMérieux’s systems and the continuous updating of the tests to take into account the most recent clinical guidelines.

DIAGNOSTICS

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. These life-threatening diseases require fast and reliable diagnostic tools to enable doctors to make a nearly immediate medical decision. Approximately 30% of patients who present at the emergency room with VTE symptoms do not actually have the disease, which is difficult to diagnose. Diagnostic tests make it possible to rapidly rule out the risk of VTE.

To identify patients suffering from VTE, emergency room doctors rely on our VIDAS® D-DIMER EXCLUSION™ test. If the test is negative, VTE can be ruled out; if the test is positive, the patient will undergo tests based on imaging methods in order to be diagnosed and receive rapid treatment.

Ours was the first test for this indication, and the first to receive approval from the FDA (American public health authority). It represents a milestone in patient care and also generates considerable public health savings.

Results are obtained in 35 minutes with the VIDAS D-DIMER EXCLUSION test.

Acute coronary syndrome: heart attack (myocardial infarction) is the leading cause of death worldwide and an important cause of disability.

Victims must be attended to as quickly as possible: when a patient arrives at the emergency room presenting symptoms typical of an acute coronary event, such as a heart attack (chest pains, for example), he must receive immediate care. In this situation, serum measurement of cardiac markers using very reliable, sensitive and rapid tests plays a decisive role in determining the treatment strategy. In the hours and days that follow, measurements are also very important to ensure patient monitoring.

Our VIDAS immunoassay platform makes it possible to screen for and quantify different biomarkers secreted by myocardial cells during a heart attack. Time to results ranges from 17 to 30 minutes, depending on the biomarker.