• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Rapid Blood Test for Stroke Under Development By Lesanne Life Sciences

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 May 2007, 09:00 CDT

The Channel Group, LLC announced today that it has formed Lesanne Life Sciences, LLC, a medical diagnostic company that is developing a simple blood test to detect the occurrence of a stroke.

Lesanne's diagnostic test is able to detect low levels of a patented protein biomarker that is present only in the brain and related central nervous system tissue of healthy individuals. In a pilot clinical trial, the biomarker was present in blood samples obtained from stroke patients, but was not found in control patients. Pre-clinical experiments showed that the biomarker was detectable readily within 15 minutes of induction of a stroke in animal models. These findings imply that it might be possible for the first time for emergency personnel and physicians to confirm the occurrence of stroke, even before a patient is subjected to imaging. The company is developing both a qualitative blood test to be used in emergency settings for diagnosing a stroke and a quantitative blood test to be used in the hospital to monitor recovery from a stroke.

The New York Times reported on Monday, May 28, 2007, in a front page article, "Life Saving Opportunities Missed, Before and After Stroke," that "Many strokes that could be successfully treated are not." According to this article, "Emergency room doctors ... are uncomfortable deciding whether the patient is really having a stroke." Furthermore, "Many hospitals say they cannot afford to have neurologists on call to diagnose strokes, and cannot afford to have M.R.I. scanners, the most accurate way to diagnose strokes, for the emergency room."

Lesanne's stroke diagnostic is being developed to meet the need for a fast, accurate, and easy to administer test for stroke. The company also plans to extend the use of its biomarker as a diagnostic for neurological ischemia associated with traumatic brain injury ("TBI") and various medical procedures, including coronary artery bypass graft ("CABG") surgery, cardiac surgery, and coronary angiography and angioplasty.

About Lesanne Life Sciences

Lesanne's founders are Robert J. Beckman, Allan R. Goldberg, Ph.D., Philip N. Sussman, Ann H. Cornell-Bell, Ph.D., and Leslie A. Riblet, Ph.D. Mr. Beckman, Dr. Goldberg, and Mr. Sussman are each Managing Partners of The Channel Group, and serve as management of Lesanne. Dr. Cornell-Bell, Ph.D., a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute Associate and Research Scientist in Cell Biology at Yale University, is Chief Scientific Officer of Lesanne, and Dr. Riblet, a former Vice President, Research Operations, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, is Chief Operating Officer of Lesanne. Drs. Cornell-Bell and Riblet are co-inventors of Lesanne's proprietary biomarker. The company maintains a research facility in Ivoryton, Connecticut.

About The Channel Group

The Channel Group is a New York-based life sciences venture development and management firm. As principals, and advisors The Channel Group creates, develops, and manages life sciences companies based on drug candidates and technologies emanating from medical centers, academic institutions, research institutes, and commercial R&D organizations. www.TheChannelGroup.com.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category