BG Medicine receives US patent for galectin-3 testing to detect heart failure

BG Medicine, a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostics based on biomarkers, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,888,137, entitled "Method For Identifying a Subject at Risk of Developing Heart Failure by Determining the Level of Galectin-3 or Thrombospondin-2" to the University of Maastricht. BG Medicine has an exclusive license to this issued patent, which pertains to galectin-3 testing for individuals at risk for heart failure. The patent term expires in 2026.

"This seminal patent is an important step towards our goal of obtaining broad patent coverage for galectin-3 testing in the area of cardiac disease," said Pieter Muntendam, MD, President and CEO of BG Medicine. "It has been a remarkable journey from the first discovery of dysregulated galectin-3 in an animal model of heart disease less than a decade ago to FDA clearance of the galectin-3 blood test for clinical use in 2010. We plan to aggressively expand our patent portfolio for this important medical innovation."