BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, U.K., Oct. 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) - Amersham Health, global leader in medical diagnostics and a major provider of radiotherapy products and a business of Amersham plc (NYSE:AHM) (LSE:AHM) (OSE:AHM), today announced that its radiopharmaceutical imaging agent MYOVIEW(TM)(1) has been approved for use in breast cancer screening in 12 European countries including France, Germany, the U.K. and Spain.
MYOVIEW, the Company's second largest selling product, is already well established in cardiology, where it is used to diagnose heart disease by visualising blood flow to the heart muscle.
The incidence of breast cancer has increased steadily in most European countries over the last 40 years and is now the most common malignancy in women. "MYOVIEW is an important new weapon in the fight against breast cancer," said Daniel L. Peters, President of Amersham Health's Medical Diagnostics business worldwide. "It is convenient, painless and improves the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis in more difficult cases."
Amersham Health is committed to developing additional indications for MYOVIEW on a global basis. "This new indication is another result of our lifecycle management program, " Peters added. "Last year we received US approval for the expanded use of MYOVIEW in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease who are unable to take physical exercise, reinforcing the clinical versatility of this valuable product in the diagnosis of heart disease."
(1) MYOVIEW: Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Tetrofosmin for Injection
About Amersham Health
Amersham Health, a business of Amersham plc, is the leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic and predictive imaging products and services. Amersham Health is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. Amersham Health is committed to finding innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions with a focus on cardiology, neurology and cancer.
About Amersham plc
Amersham plc is a world leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences. Headquartered in the U.K., the company had annual sales of 1.6 billion (approximately U.S. $2.3 billion) in 2001 and around 9,500 employees worldwide. Its strategy is to build its position as a leading provider of products and technologies enabling disease to be better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively. For additional information and full prescribing information, visit the Amersham Health Web site at www.amershamhealth.com or the Amersham plc corporate Website at www.amersham.com
Editor's Notes: U.K. regulatory authorities gave initial approval for the use of MYOVIEW in breast tumour imaging on August 1, 2001, and then acted as the Reference Member State (RMS) for the European Mutual Recognition Procedure (MRP) by which their approval was mutually recognized by 12 other EU member states. Amersham Health will launch this new indication in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Portugal and the UK as soon as formalities are completed in each country.
According to the MRP, MYOVIEW is indicated as an adjunct to the initial assessments (e.g., palpation, mammography, or alternative imaging modalities and/or cytology) in the characterisation of malignancy of suspected breast lesions where all these other recommended tests were inconclusive.
In many western countries, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged 3554. Despite the increased incidence, mortality has remained stable. This has been attributed to improvements in breast cancer treatment; more cases of breast cancer being diagnosed due to screening; and the identification of nonfatal cancers.