Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Disease

Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States and, as such, is associated with high costs in terms of health care, morbidity, and mortality. An important aspect of the fight to reduce CVD is the development of diagnostic tests to identify people who are at increased risk of CVD and who will thus benefit from treatment. As such, there is a pressing need to identify markers for the rapid, accurate and non-invasive diagnosis and/or assessment of the risk of cardiovascular disease, and also to assess the efficacy of interventions designed to slow the initiation and progress of this disorder. Researchers at the University of Washington have identified a number of novel lipid biomarkers that can be used to determine if a patient is at risk for developing, or is suffering from, cardiovascular disease. Technology description The risk of cardiovascular disease is inversely proportional to plasma levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL). To discover specific proteins that might be important in the pathogenesis
— and therefore the diagnosis — of cardiovascular disease, UW researchers analyzed HDL from healthy individuals and from patients suffering from cardiovascular disease. Using proteomics to profile HDL, a number of novel biomarkers of cardiovascular disease have been identified. These markers could also be useful for assessing the efficacy of interventions designed to slow the initiation and progression of this disorder. Business opportunity Approximately 200 million lipid profile tests are performed every year, equating to a $3 billion market, which is predicted to increase. Despite the success of these traditional lipid diagnostic tests, many people who develop heart disease are shown to have normal lipid profiles based on these tests. As such, there is a clear need to develop increasingly sensitive diagnostic tests, which address the problem of early diagnosis or detection of predisposing factors. Stage of development Researchers are working to further validate the biomarkers and to develop biochemical and/or immunoassays to diagnose and monitor cardiovascular disease. Intellectual property position The UW has applied for patent protection to secure the rights to this technology (US 2007- 0099242 A1). For more information on this technology contact:
Angela Loihl, Ph.D., MBA Technology Manager, Invention Licensing [email protected]

Type of Offer: Licensing



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