AtCor to enter US market

Sydney-based devices company AtCor Medical is readying itself to make a major push into the US market with its range of cardiovascular diagnostic devices.

The company, which was founded in 1994 by Prof Michael O'Rourke, Ross Harricks and Keith Stewart, is currently raising capital to assist with expanding its US base, said CEO Ross Harricks.

And recently, Genzyme Benelux announced plans to use the product in its CORD (Calcification Outcome in Renal Disease) clinical program, which will examine cardiovascular risks including vascular calcification in kidney dialysis patients.

AtCor's product, the SphygmoCor, non-invasively measures central pressure pulse waveforms to determine and analyse arterial stiffness parameters and central cardiovascular function, including the load on the pumping heart, coronary artery perfusion pressure during the diastole period, and the cardiac reserve capacity versus the actual physiological demand.

In contrast, cuff blood pressure measurements provide only data about the blood pressure, and no indication of the state of the cardiovascular system. And other methods, such as ECGs and electrocardiograms, are far more time-consuming, expensive and require specialist interpretation.

According to Harricks, the devices have been well received around the world for use in research and clinical trials, with about 550 units shipped to date. In addition, regulatory approvals for the devices have been received in Europe, Japan and the USA.

Now the company plans to target the specialist market, and eventually move into primary care.

"Over 90 per cent of hypertension and diabetes, and 80 per cent of heart failure are managed by primary care physicians," Harricks said. "But our early market will be with the specialists, including renal specialists, cardiologists and endocrinologists and diabetes specialists."

Conservatively, Harricks estimates the market as being around $1 billion, if the device is as well accepted as ECG devices.

"But we think that devices of this type have the potential for even better penetration," he said.