SAN DIEGO, Mar. 15 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Results suggest increased need for quantifying patient response to clopidogrel through point-of-care testing

Accumetrics, Inc., a privately-held developer and marketer of the VerifyNow(R) System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, announced the presentation of a 2,000 patient meta-analysis examining patient response to antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Data from the patient-level meta-analysis show that individuals with an inadequate response to clopidogrel have a higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events.

Somjot S. Brar, MD, Director of Vascular Medicine & Staff Interventional Cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente, presented the results at the American College of Cardiology's ACC.10 conference in Atlanta. "Our data suggest that approximately 35% of patients undergoing PCI have poor response to clopidogrel, which is consistent with previous findings," said Dr. Brar. "These patients with inadequate response identified by the VerifyNow test may have twice the risk of ischemic events or death."

The analysis showed results consistent with previous publications on the clinical utility and importance of assessing response to antiplatelet therapy using the VerifyNow P2Y12 platelet function test, including the recently published POPular trial (JAMA Feb 2010).

Dr. Brar continued, "These data could not have come at a more appropriate time based on the FDA's recent warning that genetic differences may reduce the effectiveness of clopidogrel. Many studies, including our own, have repeatedly shown that there are several factors, including genetics, concomitant medications and pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, that influence the effectiveness of clopidogrel and ultimately clinical outcomes." Platelet function tests, such as the VerifyNow P2Y12 Test, measure the combined effect of all of these factors.

The VerifyNow System is widely used in various clinical settings where antiplatelet medications are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of future thrombotic events such as heart attack and stroke. About Accumetrics Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.

Accumetrics' VerifyNow System is the first rapid and easy to use platform to help physicians determine an individual's response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitors (e.g. prasugrel (Effient(R)) and clopidogrel (Plavix(R))), and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors (e.g. ReoPro(R) and Integrilin(R)), the VerifyNow System provides a valuable tool to help physicians make informed treatment decisions.

For more information about the Company and its products, visit www.accumetrics.com.

The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc. ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis. Effient is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company.