Austin, Texas, October 28, 2009 — Rules-Based Medicine (RBM), a leading multiplexed biomarker testing laboratory, today announced the launch of CardiovascularMAP™, a research tool designed specifically to advance drug development aimed at the treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Designed in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology research groups, the 50-biomarker panel combines biomarkers most commonly associated with CVD progression with additional markers to identify new patterns of disease, resulting in a potentially powerful new tool for researchers.
“RBM is providing access to the most comprehensive array of cardiovascular biomarkers ever assembled in one panel,” said George P. Rodgers, M.D., F.A.C.C., past chairman of the American College of Cardiology Board of Governors. “Accurate measurement of these biomarkers clearly has the potential to accelerate CVD research programs.”
CardiovascularMAP is based on RBM’s proprietary Multi-Analyte Profiling (MAP) platform, which quantifies key blood-based biomarkers representing dozens of important biological pathways. The multiplexing process allows for an optimized panel intended to heighten efficiency while providing high levels of accuracy and precision.
“As researchers gain appreciation for the critical role inflammation plays in cardiovascular and other diseases, it is important to combine known CVD biomarkers with those that report on multiple associated pathways,” said Craig Benson, RBM president and chief executive officer. “Our multiplexed panel for cardiovascular disease provides researchers with a cost-effective tool to measure established CVD biomarkers while also identifying new biomarker patterns for further exploration.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. CVD follows a progression that begins with the evolution of risk factors that contribute to the development of subclinical atherosclerosis. Subclinical disease typically goes undetected until the onset of overt CVD marked by symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and fainting. Patients with overt CVD have a poor prognosis with increased risk of recurrent events, morbidity, and mortality. Systemic inflammation and abnormal lipoprotein metabolism have been documented as important contributors to the progression of atherosclerotic disease and plaque instability.
Many of the events in the progression of CVD can be monitored using biomarkers found in blood. For a complete list of the CardiovascularMAP analytes and details regarding sample submission, please refer to www.rulesbasedmedicine.com.