Nycomed's Teslascan Gets EU Clearance

Nycomed of Norway has been granted centralized European Union approvalfor the company's first organ-specific contrast agent, Teslascan (mangafodipir) for use in magnetic resonance imaging. The company has also been issued with an approvable letter for the product from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Teslascan is used for the diagnosis of liver disease, and will enable MRI to be used as a substitute or follow-up for computed tomography, the imaging technique most often used for liver conditions. Nycomed Imaging plans to start marketing Teslascan in the EU during the third quarter of 1997, and says it expects to gain considerable market share in this relatively specific sector.