NT-proBNP Test Added to American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Practice Guidelines for Heart Failure

The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association practice guidelines recently were updated to include the NT-proBNP test for diagnosis of heart failure and management of heart failure patients. The guidelines specify that the use of proBNP is highly recommended in the evaluation of patients presenting within the emergent care setting when there is a suspicion of heart failure.1

Roche Diagnostics currently offers the NT-proBNP test to detect the level of the NT-proBNP peptide as an aid in the diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) in patients. It also can assess risk stratification in CHF and in acute coronary syndrome.

“Roche Diagnostics is committed to improving patient care, and the NT-proBNP test has proven clinical utility in diagnosing heart failure. This new version of the AHA/ACC guidelines is the first to include any of the natriuretic peptides, which shows that they are established markers in cardiac care,” said Andrew Thomson, Senior Vice President, Centralized Diagnostics, a business unit of Roche Diagnostics. “In the United States, more than 4.9 million people have congestive heart failure and there are more than 500,000 new cases of each year. These new guidelines may help determine earlier detection of CHF, which may benefit and improve outcomes for both patients and physicians.”

“The ACC/AHA guidelines spell out the most up-to-date understanding of the optimal care we can deliver to our patients with heart failure, and we, as clinicians frequently turn to them for guidance. The guidelines thus represent the foundation for excellence in clinical practice. Importantly, prior to the changing the guidelines to incorporate new technologies offering diagnostic or prognostic information, a rigorous evaluation of those technologies is mandatory,” said James L. Januzzi, Jr., MD, FACC, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Co-director of the Coronary Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital .

About Congestive Heart Failure

              • Heart failure is the underlying reason for 12-15 million physician office visits and 6.5 million hospital days each year 2

              • Heart failure is the most common Medicare diagnosis-related group and more Medicare dollars are spent for diagnosis
              and treatment of heart failure than for any other diagnosis 2

              • In 2005 the total direct and indirect cost of heart failure in the US is estimated to be $27.9 billion 2

              • The incidence of heart failure is about 1 in 100 people over the age of 65, the number one cause for hospital admissions 2

About Roche and the Roche Diagnostics Division

Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world’s leading research-intensive healthcare groups. Its core businesses are pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As a supplier of innovative products and services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people’s health and quality of life. Roche is a world leader in Diagnostics, the leading supplier of medicines for cancer and transplantation and a market leader in virology. In 2004, the Pharmaceuticals Division generated 21.7 billion Swiss francs in prescription drug sales, while the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 7.8 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 65,000 people in 150 countries and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Roche’s Diagnostics Division, with a uniquely broad product portfolio, supplies a wide array of innovative testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories world-wide. Roche Diagnostics’ North American headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Ind. (www.roche-diagnostics.us) For further information, please visit our websites www.roche.us and www.roche-diagnostics.com

1. Hunt SA, Abraham WT, Chin MH, Feldman AM, Francis GS, et al. ACC/AHA 2005 Guideline Update for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult. Circulation, September 20, 2005. e154-e235.

2. Bonow RO, Bennett SJ, Casey DE, Ganiats TG, Hlatky MA, et al. ACC/AHA Clinical Performance Measures for Adults with Chronic Heart Failure. Circulation, September 20, 2005. 1853-1887.

All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.

For more information please contact: