Alere Inc. (ALR) recently launched the first fingerstick BNP (b-type natriuretic peptide) test, which is designed to be used to diagnose and assess the severity of heart failure patients. The compact BNP analyzer facilitates lab accurate tests within 15 minutes of drawing of capillary blood sample. Thus, medical practitioners will receive rapid point of care BNP results that will aid their decision making.
The company has intended the new Alere Heart Check System to help in the diagnosis of heart failure, gauge the severity of the condition, and facilitate stratification of risk for patients with heart failure and those with acute coronary syndrome.
The Alere Heart Check System comprises a compact moveable analysis platform and the Alere Heart Check BNP Test Strips. This system offers a reliable and non-invasive diagnostic tool at the patient point of care with strong correlation with the predicate lab-housed assay. Further, the intelligent technology utilized in the test strips simplifies the testing and analytical process.
Heart failure may, at times, be confused with other health conditions, such as lung disorder, making a correct diagnosis imperative to ensure that appropriate treatment and patient care is in place. The level of BNP can permit medical practitioners differentiate between heart failure and other health disorders, since the threshold of natriuretic peptides in the blood goes up as chronic heart failure sets in.
Plans for heart failure treatment arrived at in a timely manner, at the point-of-care, accelerate diagnosis and treatment, besides reducing re-admission rates and costs associated with heart failure patients.
The Alere Heart Check system has CE approval, which states conformity with the needs of the European IVD Directive. It will initially be launched in Italy, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and U.K. A timeframe for introduction in the U.S. and the rest of the world will be announced shortly.
Massachusetts-based Alere helps people take responsibility of their health and quality of life at home by developing near-patient (point-of-care) diagnosis, monitoring and health management products. Its products and services focus on cardiology, infectious disease, oncology, drugs of abuse and women’s health. The company competes with Becton, Dickinson (BDX), among others.
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