Abbott, a global healthcare company announced CE Marking (Conformite Europeenne) for the ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay, a test to aid doctors in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure (HF). The ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay is a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) for the quantitative determination of galectin-3 in human serum and EDTA plasma on the ARCHITECT i System.

The test was developed in partnership with BG Medicine, Inc., to run on Abbott's ARCHITECT immunochemistry platform.

"Galectin-3 reflects the pathophysiology of heart failure and is one of the most powerful prognostic indicators in heart failure. It helps clinicians identify which patients are at high risk for worsening heart failure early in the course of their disease," said Dr Rudolf de Boer, associate professor in Cardiology at the University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands. "Knowing which patients are at increased risk of hospital readmission - independent of other variables - could provide physicians with important information to help them reach different decisions about treatment, which may benefit patient care."

Heart failure, or the inability of the heart to circulate blood effectively, is associated with poor patient outcomes, a lower quality of life, and recurrent and costly health services. While the progress of HF is different for each patient, several studies demonstrate that HF patients with higher levels of a protein called galectin-3 present are more likely to have worse outcomes, including re-hospitalization and death.

"Despite numerous medical advances, the number of deaths among hospitalized heart failure patients remains high, exceeding that of most cancers," said Brian Blaser, executive vice president, Diagnostics Products, Abbott. "The new ARCHITECT Galectin-3 test is a helpful tool to aid physicians in their care of these critically ill patients."

The ARCHITECT Galectin-3 test is available in several European countries. This test may be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation as an aid in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure.

BG Medicine, Inc., is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular tests to address significant unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

Abbott is a global leader in in-vitro diagnostics and offers a broad range of innovative instrument systems and tests for hospitals, reference labs, molecular labs, blood banks, physician offices and clinics. The company is devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare.