MPI agent market down overall, but Cardiolite outsells Myoview

Arlington Medical Resources (AMR), which provides market data for the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries, has reported that Lantheus Medical Imaging’s Cardiolite had 15 percent more market share than GE Healthcare’s Myoview for September.

Both Cardiolite and Myoview are administered intravenously as part of a myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) stress test to highlight areas of the heart to help diagnose coronary artery disease.

“Compared to data from our September 2007 audit, Cardiolite use has dropped nine percent. Even so, Cardiolite continues to dominate the radiopharmaceutical market,” according to Anna Fisher, analyst at AMR.

The report also found that the number of patients who were administered Astellas Pharma’s Lexiscan (regadenoson) increased 58.5 percent from August to September. Lexiscan is the newest pharmacologic stress agent on the market—introduced in June—and it is used in patients unable to undergo exercise stress testing.

AMR said its report is a syndicated audit, available monthly, designed to track the number of nuclear myocardial perfusion tests performed in hospital and non-hospital settings. 

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