Ablavar, the only commercially available blood pool MR contrast agent, lights up vasculature in this steady-state MR angiogram.
Ablavar, the only commercially available blood pool MR contrast agent, lights up vasculature in this steady-state MR angiogram. The agent entered the U.S. market early this year under the auspices of Lantheus Medical, a provider of ultrasound and nuclear medicine imaging agents. A different company, Epix Pharmaceuticals, had developed the agent, however, under the name Vasovist, and won FDA approval in December 2008 after a long struggle with American regulators.
Epix sold the U.S., Canadian, and Australian rights to market the agent to Lantheus in April 2008 for $28 million in a futile attempt to stay afloat after the company had switched its focus to the development of therapeutic drugs. Epix declared bankruptcy a year ago.
Its unique injectable MR angiography agent is approved by the FDA to evaluate aortoiliac occlusive disease in adults with known or suspected peripheral vascular disease, producing high-resolution images with a single dose. Ablavar's albumin-binding properties allow the agent to persist in circulation for an extended time, illustrating vascular anomalies in both dynamic (first-pass) and steady-state imaging.
Seven Takeaways from New CT and MRI Guidelines for Ovarian Cancer Staging
January 20th 2025In an update of previous guidelines from the European Society of Urogenital Radiology published in 2010, a 21-expert panel offered consensus recommendations on the utility of CT, MRI and PET-CT in the staging and follow-up imaging for patients with ovarian cancer.