FluoroPharma Obtains US Patent for Imaging Cardiovascular Plaque using FDG

2009 FEB 13 - (NewsRx.com) -- FluoroPharma Inc., a company developing breakthrough molecular imaging agents for the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) market, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,438,891, covering methods of imaging cardiovascular plaque formation using F18 labeled 2-fluorodeoxy-D-glucose (FDG). This patent, exclusively licensed from the Massachusetts General Hospital, provides FluoroPharma with additional patent claims that cover imaging of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation and rupture (see also Patents).

"The use of 18F-FDG PET for imaging atherosclerosis, for tracking inflammation within plaque and for monitoring the response to drug therapy is promising and should be part of future diagnostic armament," said Dr. David Elmaleh, FluoroPharma founder and Chief Scientific Advisor.

"Molecular imaging of the inflammatory status of vulnerable atherosclerotic lesions is of paramount importance for the identification of patients at risk for a future heart attack or stroke," said Dr. Tom Brady, Director of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Division at the MGH, "In vivo noninvasive clinical studies to measure carotid plaque inflammation show that 18F -FDG PET imaging can identify a subset of patients with carotid atherosclerosis that may benefit from intensified medical therapy or carotid artery intervention to prevent stroke."

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