SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS
WIRE)–Critical Diagnostics, a U.S.-based biomarker company focused on
cardiovascular diseases, announced today that a major European medical center,
Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol in Barcelona Spain, is now using the companys
Presage® ST2 Assay for routine care and management of their heart failure
patients.

“This commitment by Dr. Bayes-Genis is a powerful
endorsement regarding the clinical value of the Presage ST2 Assay,” says James
Snider, President of Critical Diagnostics.

The Presage® ST2 Assay quantitatively measures the level of
ST2 in blood. ST2 has been shown to be a significant predictor of mortality as
well as all-cause hospitalization, mortality due to cardiovascular disease, and
hospitalization due to cardiovascular disease. ST2 is prognostic for clinically
important outcomes in addition to all-cause mortality.

“Different groups worldwide are working together to
study the role of ST2 in humans and our hospital is the first to apply it in
day-to-day operation using the marker in the context of routine care for our
patients,” notes Dr. Antoni Bayes-Genis, head of Cardiology Service at Hospital
Germans Trias i Pujol, and renowned expert in cardiac biomarkers. “Our data
indicates that it refines the prognosis and allows us to separate patients who
will evolve poorly with those who are likely to have a good outcome.

“It is a clear example of translational medicine and
allows us to be pioneers in this field,” adds Bayes-Genis. “We now have a
second generation of heart failure markers. The first generation were the
natriuretic peptides. But we are seeing that ST2 is a marker as powerful or
more than natriuretic peptides for predicting death. If we know which patients
have higher levels of ST2, we must be able to handle them differently and
obtain lower levels of this protein. Therefore, we will establish a protocol
for patients who are at high risk based on this analysis.”

“The Presage ST2 Assay helps clinicians assess patient
prognosis in order to better personalize their care,” states James Snider. “By
selecting the most appropriate treatments and interventions for each patient, a
physician can maximize the clinical benefit from increasingly limited
healthcare resources.”

About Critical Diagnostics and ST2

Critical Diagnostics (www.criticaldiagnostics.com) develops novel diagnostics to
help physicians optimize patient care in cardiovascular diseases, while
containing healthcare costs. The Presage® ST2 Assay has been CE Marked and
cleared by the US FDA. Critical Diagnostics has exclusive worldwide rights to
ST2 for the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular disease.

Posted by Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief, MDT