Following the granting of Food and Drug administration approval for the imaging agent at the beginning of August, Mallinckrodt has launched Albunex onto the US market. The agent, which was developed by Molecular Biosystems, becomes the first ultrasound contrast agent to reach the market.
Mallinckrodt's marketing efforts will target an initial group of ten hospitals, in which Albunex will be used in echocardiography studies to image the left side of the heart. The product improves endocardial border definition in patients with suboptimal echoes undergoing ventricular function and regional wall motion studies, according to the company.
This initial test marketing will be followed by what Mallinckrodt describes as a "controlled" launch, which will see the product being introduced to 40-60 sites a month, according to the Pink Sheet. This gradual phase-in is necessary to allow ultrasound users to be trained in the proper use of the new contrast agent, and to this end the company has hired "echospecialists" to make sure that physicians gain the most benefit from Albunex.
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