Efficacy of EVP 1001-1 (SeeMore) in the Assessment of Myocardial Viability in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease

Detailed Summary

The investigator hopes to introduce a novel MRI contrast agent with SeeMore ™ that directly defines viable myocardium. Identifying viable myocardium non-invasively using cardiac MRI is still a moving target and a question we plan to answer more definitively with the SeeMore ™ contrast. Though well tested in small and large animals and Phase I \& II clinical trials, the investigators would like to determine the efficacy of the SeeMore contrast further in a clinical setting. SeeMore is a new manganese (Mn)-based intravenous imaging agent being developed to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). While Mn has long been known to have desirable magnetic and kinetic properties for MRI, use in humans was not initially possible due to cardiovascular depression and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes, including prolongation of PR and QTc intervals, associated with intravenous administration \[1-5\]. SeeMore provides Mn in a form that maintains the desired magnetic and kinetic properties while overcoming the cardiovascular toxicity of Mn. SeeMore is taken up into heart cells (primarily via addition of calcium to avoid cardiotoxic effects; please refer to US patent #5,980,863). The potential to distinguish healthy heart tissue from unhealthy heart tissue based on a specific sustained pattern of enhancement provides a basis for evaluating the performance of SeeMore in heart patients. It may be possible to enhance the utility of MRI for heart disease through the use of an imaging agent that is specifically taken up into heart cells. SeeMore is the only cardiac-specific agent being developed for this purpose. Unlike nuclear perfusion agents, SeeMore is not radioactive and does not require special handling, shielding, transport or storage. In addition, the specific pattern of enhancement achieved in the heart muscle persists over time, offering potential benefits over the nonspecific extracellular agents currently available for MRI or X-ray/CT procedures. This feature allows full use of the high resolution of MRI, since there is not a trade-off of high spatial resolution for temporal (first-pass) resolution. It is anticipated the features offered by SeeMore along with the high resolution, three dimensional attributes of MRI will result in higher accuracy than is available with other current modalities in practice, including stress echocardiograms, cardiac MRI using gadolinium contrast and nuclear studies such as SPECT and PET. This will be evaluated in this study and serve as the basis for pivotal registration studies. All components of SeeMore™ are USP and are approved for use as drugs in man, orally and/or intravenously.

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