Technology Overview:
Elevated levels of Cardiac troponins (cTn) reflect the occurrence of cardiac muscle necrosis and have emerged as the gold standard biomarker and are incorporated into the universal definition of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) Prof Marber's group has identified a cardiac specific biomarker, cardiac myosin-binding protein C (MyC) that may offer benefits over the traditional troponin measurements. Early clinical data has demonstrated that levels of cardiac myosin-binding protein C (MyC), accumulate and disappear more rapidly than troponin following the onset of myocardial necrosis, and these different kinetics may offer a more accurate earlier diagnosis of AMI and improve diagnostic certainty.
Applications:
The measurement of Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein C (MyCTM) can be used as a novel early biomarker for myocardial injury and may help to improve diagnostic certainty at early time-points in combination with cTn.
Benefits:
The ability to diagnose rapidly and accurately the 15–25% of patients who present with chest pain that is a manifestation of ACS is of critical importance because
a. The short-term mortality for patients with AMI who are mistakenly discharged from the hospital is double the rate of those who are admitted
b. Diagnostic uncertainty may:
i. delay initiation of definitive treatment in those ultimately diagnosed with ACS
ii. prolong hospital stay
c. Accurately ruling out AMI avoids inappropriate treatment, and reduces unnecessary referral and admission to secondary care
As MyC accumulates more rapidly than cTn post-MI it is a potential earlier biomarker for myocardial injury than cTn. The more rapid accumulation of MyC levels post-MI potentially offers greater diagnostic accuracy in the early hours post MI than the more slowly accumulating cTn, either as a standalone marker, or in combination with cTn where the earlier release kinetics of MyC could improve the specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of a combined MyC/cTn test over cTn alone, improving the overall diagnostic accuracy of the test, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes, earlier discharge for non-AMI cases, and reducing unnecessary costs from inaccurate results.
Opportunity:
KCL is seeking a partner for further development and validation of this assay. Patent application and data from clinical samples are available for licensing.
IP Status:
Granted Patent in USA (Patent no. US 8,546,089)
Patent Pending in EU. (Serial no. 10718654.6)
Keywords:
Acute myocardial infarction
Biomarker
Cardiac myosin-binding protein C
Cardiac troponins