Dade Behring Acquires Rights to Cardiac Marker

The marker is NT-proBNP (N-terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide).

BNP is secreted by the left ventricle when the heart is unable to pump blood efficiently. BNP dilates blood vessels and promotes sodium and water loss, reducing fluid load on the heart. Synthetic BNP (nesiritide) does not necessarily allow doctors to differentiate between elevated BNP levels due to drug treatment or due to ventricular dysfunction. In contrast, proBNP measures a hormone released when BNP is cleaved from its precursor, proBNP.

Elevated plasma NT-proBNP indicates the presence of heart failure and provides information about its severity. Also, NT-proBNP levels can help doctors identify left ventricular dysfunction, thereby allowing them to differentiate between heart failure and lung disorders with similar symptoms.

"This license enables Dade Behring, a market leader in clinical diagnostics for cardiac disease, to access an important new marker for use in the early detection and treatment of CHF,” said Jim Reid-Anderson, chairman, president, and CEO of Dade Behring.





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