Research has shown that biomarkers released from inflammatory plaques in arterial walls remain near the walls of the artery and do not readily mix with the bulk blood flow. Existing blood collection methods do not address the boundary layer and predominantly collect bulk blood flow, which is free of biomarkers released by local plaques.     

 

Plaquetec is working with world-leading scientists and clinicians to develop biomarkers that will allow cardiologists to accurately assess their patients’ true state of CAD and their risk of a future event. Through the use of the LBS and its associated database, PlaqueTec will help cardiologists to:

• Assess whether non-flow-limiting coronary plaques are likely to rupture and hence require stenting (or other device-based intervention such as a drug-eluting balloon);

• Assess the effectiveness of drugs on the extent and severity of CAD in individual patients;

• Modify drug dose (e.g., statins, anti-platelets, aspirin) to correspond with a patient’s true risk of a future CAD event;

• Prescribe additional drugs (e.g., PCSK9 inhibitors, ezetimibe, anti-coagulation or anti-inflammatories) to patients with elevated risk of such events.

 

PlaqueTec’s biomarkers will also allow pharmaceutical companies to investigate the impact of their candidate therapies with greater accuracy and detail than has been previously possible. These biomarkers will allow PlaqueTec to facilitate the development of new therapies by:

• Generating new mechanistic biomarker data to improve assessment of drug efficacy in phase 2 studies, reducing uncertainty and the risk of downstream failure in phase 3;

• Reducing patient numbers in clinical studies while maintaining the same statistical powering to demonstrate significance for the association of key biomarkers with disease states;

• Stratification of patient populations and selection of those who will benefit from specific therapies, leading to improved risk/benefit ratios and higher revenues;

• Developing new therapies based on enhanced understanding of the fundamental disease processes in CAD.

 

The unparalleled resolution of the LBS thus has the potential to transform the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease.