Alta Immuno

A Diagnostics Company for the Early Prediction of Heart Attacks

Background

A biomarker has been discovered which has been shown to provide an early indication of an imminent heart attack. Further clinical studies are underway to determine how early this test can be used as an indicator and whether the current test for A&E can be extended for a Point-of-Care and OTC products.

Problem

According to the NHS, an estimated 111,000 people have a heart attack in England each year, making it one of the leading causes of death. Many heart attacks are preventable therefore successful early prediction is an increasing priority. In addition, the high number of patients presenting at A&E that are not having a heart attack is a major cost which could be avoided if an appropriate rapid test was available.  

Solution

A link has been found between damage to cardiac tissue and the appearance of a cell marker. The biomarker has been shown to appear in blood prior to myocardial infarction.

Market Potential

While sales of such a product to A&E are likely to be <£100 million worldwide the savings from miss-diagnosis of chest pain is much higher. Current studies show that if the marker can be seen earlier then the possibility of developing a screen for the doctor's office or even an OTC product for home testing would increase the market potential significantly.

Status

NHSIL provided funding for the development, patenting and testing of the diagnostic on clinical samples from A&E. The first study was successful in demonstrating the marker could be used successfully in patients that attended A&E with chest pains. It was also successful in identifying pre-myocardial infarction patients. Testing of a broader range of patients with other conditions and "normals" is also being carried out.

Further information

Please contact David Chilvers, Chief Executive, NHS Innovations London Ltd.