Marcy l'Etoile, France - December 7, 2006. bioMérieux, a major player in the field of in vitro diagnostics, is reinforcing its commitment to combating cardiovascular diseases by launching VIDAS Troponin I Ultra, a first-line parameter in acute coronary syndrome diagnostics.
Due to its high sensitivity, VIDAS Troponin I Ultra can detect a risk of infarction very accurately and at a very early stage. With this test, medical physicians will be able to diagnose and therefore initiate treatment without delay in patients presenting to emergency departments with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome. Furthermore, this test is one of the first to comply with the new international standard, which will facilitate the interpretation of results for biologists and medical practitioners.
VIDAS Troponin I Ultra is an important step in the development of bioMérieux’s emergency menu strategy, particularly in the cardiovascular field, which represents a major healthcare issue. In the long term, the bioMérieux offering will be unique in enabling medical physicians to diagnose, prognose and/or monitor patients with heart, infectious and/or thromboembolic conditions.
Troponin is a specific marker used to identify cardiac muscle cell lesions. It can be measured in blood only in pathological conditions. This CE marked product is available in the European Community .It will be progressively introduced into the market in other countries.
A major healthcare issue
Cardiovascular diseases represent the primary cause of mortality in industrialized countries. Each year, approximately 3.8 million men and 3.4 million women die from coronary disease, which is the world's primary cause of mortality. The annual costs associated with coronary diseases represent 142.5 billion dollars in the United States and 44.7 billion euros in Europe.
Therefore, coronary diseases not only have a major impact on individuals and their quality of life, but also on healthcare costs and the economy in all countries. The risk factors for these diseases are diabetes, smoking, family history, obesity, excess cholesterol, etc…