Phase III Results For Sonus' EchoGen

Phase III Results On Sonus' EchoGen Phase III trial results of Sonus Pharmaceuticals' EchoGen Emulsion for use as an ultrasound contrast agent were presented at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine conference in New York, USA, last week.

The study, which was carried out at 18 clinical centers in the USA, focused on radiology studies of the liver, kidney and peripheral vascular system. A total of 253 patients were enrolled in the randomized, double-blind and saline placebo-controlled trial. The patient population included 152 studies using the final formulation and pre-activation technique of EchoGen that will be submitted for US Food and Drug Administration review.

Overall contrast enhancement and facilitated visualization of blood flow or lesions was observed in 94% of patients given EchoGen. Average duration of contrast enhancement in color Doppler studies was over 15 minutes in the EchoGen-enhanced studies. Significant grayscale enhancement was also seen in 25% of patients, with average duration of 12 minutes.