Inverness Medical Innovations, PrognostiX Sign Distribution Agreement for CardioMP...( WALTHAM Mass. and CLEVELAND Nov. ...),Health

WALTHAM, Mass. and CLEVELAND, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. (Amex: IMA), a global manufacturer and marketer of rapid diagnostic products, and PrognostiX Inc., a Cleveland Clinic spin-out company focused on cardiovascular disease diagnostics, today announced that the companies have entered into a distribution agreement under which Inverness will distribute PrognostiX's CardioMPO(TM) Test through its global sales and distribution infrastructure.

The CardioMPO(TM) Test, the only FDA-cleared diagnostic of its kind, measures myeloperoxidase, or MPO, an enzyme found in the blood. An elevated MPO level in a patient complaining of chest pain or discomfort can signal his or her near-term risk for heart attack, bypass surgery or angioplasty, and cardiac death. Under a separate agreement with PrognostiX and the Cleveland Clinic entered into in 2004, Inverness was granted licenses to develop MPO tests in both automated, high-throughput and low-throughput formats, including exclusive rights with respect to low-throughput (point of care) detection.

"Inverness is enthusiastic about its collaboration with PrognostiX to commercialize its CardioMPO(TM) Test," said Ron Zwanziger, president and chief executive officer of Inverness Medical Innovations. "The CardioMPO(TM) Test is a great addition to our portfolio of cardiology diagnostics that are now used in more than 60 countries worldwide."

"Over the past decade, multiple investigators have demonstrated numerous mechanisms linking myeloperoxidase and various aspects of the development and acute complications of atherosclerotic heart disease," said Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, Section Head of Preventive Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic and world renowned
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