BG Medicine, Inc. Announces Peer-Reviewed Publication on Galectin-3 and Development of Heart Failure After Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)

WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BG Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGMD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, biomarker-based diagnostics, announced today the availability of the peer-reviewed publication of the first clinical study on the role of galectin-3 in heart failure development. Results of the pilot study, which consisted of a sub-study of patients from the Pravastatin or Atorvastin Evaluation and Infection Therapy — Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 22 (PROVE IT-TIMI 22) trial, indicate that serum levels of galectin-3 are associated with increased risk of developing heart failure after suffering an acute coronary event, such as a heart attack. The study was conducted by the Boston-based TIMI Study Group at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The results from the study were published in the November 22, 2011 online issue of the journal Clinical Chemistry, titled, “Galectin-3 and the Development of Heart Failure after Acute Coronary Syndrome: Pilot Experience from PROVE IT-TIMI 22,” Grandin E, Jarolim P, Murphy S. DOI 10.1373/clinchem.2011.174359.

The study consisted of 100 patient cases from the PROVE IT-TIMI 22 trial, who had been hospitalized for new or worsening heart failure, which were analyzed against a matched set of control subjects. Serum levels of galectin-3 were measured within seven days following an acute coronary event using the BGM Galectin-3^TM diagnostic test.

“Preclinical data suggested that galectin-3 may play an important role in the development of certain forms of heart failure. We designed this pilot study to investigate if elevated galectin-3 levels are indeed associated with an increased risk for heart failure development,” said

David A. Morrow, MD, MPH, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and a Senior Investigator in the TIMI Study Group. “The results confirmed our hypothesis — that patients with levels of galectin-3 above the median were twice as likely to develop heart failure as those with lower levels of galectin-3.”

“This is the second study this year to report on whether adverse health consequences are associated with elevated galectin-3 levels in patients without other signs or symptoms of heart failure. The first study (PREVEND) demonstrated, in the general population, that elevated galectin-3 levels are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular-related death. The TIMI 22 galectin-3 sub-study suggests that elevated galectin-3 levels also increase the risk for the development of heart failure,” said

Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine. “These findings are consistent with the suggestions drawn from previously reported animal data. The same animal data suggest that inhibition of galectin-3 may slow down or stop this process and potentially prevent the development of heart failure.”