FluoroPharma launches Phase II CardioPET trial

FluoroPharma Medical, a developer of  diagnostic imaging products that utilize PET technology to detect and assess pathology before clinical manifestation of diseases, has recruited SGS Life Science Services as the contract research organization for its Phase II study of CardioPET to assess myocardial perfusion and fatty acid uptake in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

CardioPET is a perfusion and fatty acid uptake indicator, which may be used as a cardiac imaging agent that may be an accurate alternative to standard treadmill stress-testing. This may be valuable in patients who are unable to exercise, according to the Boston-based company.

The Phase II trial will be an open-label trial designed to assess the safety and diagnostic performance of CardioPET as compared with stress echocardiography, myocardial perfusion imaging and angiography. Two trial sites are planned in Belgium and results are expected in the second half of 2012.

Specifically, CardioPET is a modified fatty acid that closely resembles naturally occurring free fatty acids (FFAs) in the human body. FluoroPharma added that FFAs are a source of energy for healthy myocardium, where they are transported into the mitochondria and are then metabolized via beta-oxidation.

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