Scientists Who Made Significant Contribution to Discovery of Lantheus Medical Imaging’s Cardiolite® Honored with Prestigious Nuclear Medicine Award at SNM Annual Meeting

June 14, 2009 at 3:53 PM EDT
Lantheus Congratulates Award Recipients For Their
Ongoing Commitment to Advancing Field of Nuclear Medicine

N. BILLERICA, Mass. (June 14, 2009) - Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic imaging, congratulates the team of scientists whose research served as the primary foundation for the development of the company’s leading imaging agent, Cardiolite® (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection), for receiving the SNM’s Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award.  Drs. Michael Abrams, Alan Davison and Alun Jones were presented this prestigious honor for their outstanding contribution to the field of nuclear medicine, specifically their discovery and development of isonitriles, a group of chemical compounds which, when used with the radioisotope technetium-99m, had groundbreaking applications for the field of molecular and nuclear imaging.  Dr. Robert Atcher, president of SNM, today presented this award to this group of researchers at the SNM’s 56th Annual Meeting, the world’s largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, in Toronto.

“We applaud the team of Abrams, Davison and Jones for their long-standing commitment to the study and advancement of nuclear medicine and their pioneering research that led to the discovery of Cardiolite®, which remains at the heart of nuclear imaging after nearly 20 years,” said Don Kiepert, president and chief executive officer of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.  “Cardiolite® continues to play an integral role in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, and we are proud that this premier group of scientists received such an esteemed award in recognition of their significant research discovery.  We believe that Cardiolite® delivers uncompromising quality for clinicians and patients, and thus remains at the forefront of cardiac imaging today.”

In the 1980s, the team of Drs. Abrams, Davidson and Jones played a central role in discovering, developing and broadly patenting the chemistry and radiochemistry of isonitriles, a group of chemical compounds, that can link with technetium-99m (Tc-99m), which today is the most widely utilized radioisotope in the world for molecular and nuclear diagnostic imaging tests.  This important research created the foundation for the discovery of Cardiolite®, which was developed by a separate team of chemists from DuPont Radiopharmaceuticals (the predecessor of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.) working in N. Billerica, MA who synthesized novel isonitriles (mibi and sestamibi) and who developed process chemistry for Cardiolite®.

Today, Michael J. Abrams, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia.  Alan Davison, Ph.D., is a Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Alun Jones, Ph.D., is Director of the Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmacy and Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School. He is also Director of the Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Radiopharmacy Section of the Laboratory for Experimental Nuclear Medicine.

About The Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award
Each year, SNM presents the Georg Charles de Hevesy Nuclear Medicine Pioneer Award to an individual (or individuals) for outstanding contributions to the field of nuclear medicine.  The Award is named after Dr. de Hevesy, known as the father of nuclear medicine, and the author of several important books and papers on radiochemistry.  Dr. de Hevesy was awarded numerous prizes and medals during his career, including the 1943 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

About Cardiolite®
Cardiolite® (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection) is one of the world’s most widely-used cardiac imaging agents and the only technetium labeled myocardial perfusion agent that has been used to image more than 40 million patients. For almost two decades, Cardiolite® has played a vital role in the diagnosis and management of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Cardiolite® is the first technetium labeled myocardial perfusion tracer to provide physicians with prognostic information that can be helpful in making patient management decisions. Cardiolite® is the subject of more than 10,000 publications and the imaging agent of choice within several post marketing cardiology clinical trials –DIAD, COURAGE, ERASE, INSPIRE and CHRISTMAS – which have resulted in changes in patient care.

Indication and Important Safety Information Regarding Cardiolite®
Cardiolite® (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection) is a myocardial perfusion agent that is indicated for detecting coronary artery disease by localizing myocardial ischemia (reversible defects) and infarction (non-reversible defects), in evaluating myocardial function and developing information for use in patient management decisions. Cardiolite® evaluation of myocardial ischemia can be accomplished with rest and cardiovascular stress techniques (e.g., exercise or pharmacologic stress in accordance with the pharmacologic stress agent's labeling).

It is usually not possible to determine the age of a myocardial infarction or to differentiate a recent myocardial infarction from ischemia.

Exercise and pharmacologic stress testing should be performed only under the supervision of a qualified physician. Cardiolite® has been rarely associated with acute severe allergic events of angioedema and urticaria. The most frequently reported adverse events include headache, chest pain/angina, ST segment changes on ECG, nausea, and abnormal taste and smell.

For full prescribing information, please visit www.cardiolite.com. Cardiolite® is a registered trademark of Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.

About Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc.
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medicine for the past 50 years, is committed to advancing and investing in the field of diagnostic imaging. The company’s proven success in discovering, developing and marketing innovative medical imaging agents provides a solid platform from which to bring forward breakthrough new tools for the diagnosis and management of disease. The company is home to leading cardiac imaging brands, including Cardiolite® (Kit for the Preparation of Technetium Tc99m Sestamibi for Injection), DEFINITY® Vial For (Perflutren Lipid Microsphere) Injectable Suspension, and TechneLite® (Technetium Tc99m Generator) and has more than 600 employees worldwide with headquarters in North Billerica, Massachusetts, and offices in Puerto Rico, Canada, and Australia. For more information, visit
www.lantheus.com.