NMR LipoProfile® test campaign communicates importance of LDL-particles in cardiovascular disease risk and management

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LipoScience, Inc., an in vitro diagnostic company advancing patient care by developing high value proprietary clinical diagnostic tests using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, today announced that it has received first place recognition at the 2012 Diagnostic Marketing Association (DxMA) Creative Communications Awards for the integrated print and online category for LipoScience’s NMR LipoProfile® test campaign.

The award was presented at the 2012 DxMA awards reception on April 25 in Chicago. The DxMA recognizes excellence in diagnostics marketing, advertising and promotional programming. LipoScience partnered with Motivation Mechanics, a Philadelphia-based marketing research and communications strategy firm, on the campaign.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the DxMA for our clinical communication initiatives,” said Mark Kirtland, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at LipoScience. “The goal of our educational campaign continues to focus on increasing awareness of the NMR LipoProfile test and communicating the clinical value it can provide physicians and their patients in managing cardiovascular disease risk.”

“We are extremely proud of this industry award, which acknowledges the efforts of our marketing team to educate the broader physician community,” said Richard O. Brajer, President and Chief Executive Officer of LipoScience.

Diagnostics company LipoScience aims to become North Carolina’s next public company.

Raleigh, North Carolina-based LipoScience has filed with securities regulators plans to raise up to $86.2 million in an initial public stock offering. It’s the second time LipoScience has flirted with a public stock offering. The company filed IPO plans in 2001, only to withdraw them in 2002 due to market conditions. But recent market conditions have improved; LipoScience’s IPO would follow the Durham company Tranzyme Pharma‘s (NASDAQ:TZYM) $48 million public offering in April.

LipoScience plans to use proceeds from its stock offering to expand its sales and marketing and fund continued R&D for new tests to supplement an already commercialized blood test to gauge the risk of cardiovascular disease. LipoScience is targeting the cholesterol testing market, which represents an estimated 75 million tests each year in the United States.

Last year, LipoScience recorded more than 6 million orders for its lipoprotein test and the company reports that from 2006 to 2010, test orders have increased at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 30 percent. That growth has been helped by insurance industry acceptance of the test. The NMR LipoProfile test is covered by a number of payors including Medicare, TRICARE, WellPoint, United HealthCare and several Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates.

“We plan to significantly increase our geographic presence across the United States to expand market awareness and penetration of the NMR LipoProfile test, with the goal of ultimately becoming a clinical standard of care,” the company said in the filing.

LipoScience’s proprietary blood test counts the number of lipoprotein particles in a blood sample in order to gauge cardiovascular risks. LipoScience’s patented technology uses nuclear magnetic resonance to test for lipoproteins, which the company says are a better measure of cardiovascular risk than cholesterol levels.

The testing technology was developed at North Carolina State University by biochemistry professor James Otvos, who is now the company’s chief scientific officer.Otvos founded LipoScience in 1994 and by 1999, the company had developed tests to sell to clinicians and diagnostic laboratories. Investors in the company include Durham, North Carolina-based Pappas Ventures and Three Arch Partners, a Bay Area venture firm.

When LipoScience pulled its IPO plans nine years ago, the company’s revenue was $18.5 million. According to LipoScience’s most recent filing, the company generated $39.3 million in 2010 revenue. The company turned a profit of $4.3 million last year. But the filing notes that although LipoScience recorded profits in 2009 and 2010, it incurred a $500,000 loss in the first quarter of 2011. The company does not expect to be profitable this year or in coming years as it expands its growth strategy for its NMR LipoProfile test and develops new diagnostics. The company is also developing tests for diabetes and other diseases.

LipoScience expects that its latest diagnostic device should raise the market potential for its blood tests even more. Right now, blood samples using LipoScience’s tests must be sent to the company’s Raleigh headquarters to complete the testing because it’s the only facility with the proper equipment. But the company has developed a machine, called Vantera, that will allow institutions or laboratory testing facilities to complete that testing at their own sites. Vantera has already been site tested at a number of facilities across the country, including the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic. LipoScience plans to file with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance on Vantera by the end of this year.

Diagnostics company LipoScience aims to become North Carolina’s next public company.

Raleigh, North Carolina-based LipoScience has filed with securities regulators plans to raise up to $86.2 million in an initial public stock offering. It’s the second time LipoScience has flirted with a public stock offering. The company filed IPO plans in 2001, only to withdraw them in 2002 due to market conditions. But recent market conditions have improved; LipoScience’s IPO would follow the Durham company Tranzyme Pharma‘s (NASDAQ:TZYM) $48 million public offering in April.

LipoScience plans to use proceeds from its stock offering to expand its sales and marketing and fund continued R&D for new tests to supplement an already commercialized blood test to gauge the risk of cardiovascular disease. LipoScience is targeting the cholesterol testing market, which represents an estimated 75 million tests each year in the United States.

Last year, LipoScience recorded more than 6 million orders for its lipoprotein test and the company reports that from 2006 to 2010, test orders have increased at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 30 percent. That growth has been helped by insurance industry acceptance of the test. The NMR LipoProfile test is covered by a number of payors including Medicare, TRICARE, WellPoint, United HealthCare and several Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates.

“We plan to significantly increase our geographic presence across the United States to expand market awareness and penetration of the NMR LipoProfile test, with the goal of ultimately becoming a clinical standard of care,” the company said in the filing.

LipoScience’s proprietary blood test counts the number of lipoprotein particles in a blood sample in order to gauge cardiovascular risks. LipoScience’s patented technology uses nuclear magnetic resonance to test for lipoproteins, which the company says are a better measure of cardiovascular risk than cholesterol levels.

The testing technology was developed at North Carolina State University by biochemistry professor James Otvos, who is now the company’s chief scientific officer.Otvos founded LipoScience in 1994 and by 1999, the company had developed tests to sell to clinicians and diagnostic laboratories. Investors in the company include Durham, North Carolina-based Pappas Ventures and Three Arch Partners, a Bay Area venture firm.

When LipoScience pulled its IPO plans nine years ago, the company’s revenue was $18.5 million. According to LipoScience’s most recent filing, the company generated $39.3 million in 2010 revenue. The company turned a profit of $4.3 million last year. But the filing notes that although LipoScience recorded profits in 2009 and 2010, it incurred a $500,000 loss in the first quarter of 2011. The company does not expect to be profitable this year or in coming years as it expands its growth strategy for its NMR LipoProfile test and develops new diagnostics. The company is also developing tests for diabetes and other diseases.

LipoScience expects that its latest diagnostic device should raise the market potential for its blood tests even more. Right now, blood samples using LipoScience’s tests must be sent to the company’s Raleigh headquarters to complete the testing because it’s the only facility with the proper equipment. But the company has developed a machine, called Vantera, that will allow institutions or laboratory testing facilities to complete that testing at their own sites. Vantera has already been site tested at a number of facilities across the country, including the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic. LipoScience plans to file with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 510(k) clearance on Vantera by the end of this year.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) issued a consensus statement today that states the measurement of LDL particle number by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is one of the more accurate ways to evaluate cardiometabolic risk (CMR). The study, published in the April issue of Diabetes Care, reinforces that LDL cholesterol may not be the best way to quantify a patient’s risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a Medicare reimbursement rate for CPT code 83704, a new code that describes the main component of the NMR LipoProfile® test. This test is used to help identify patients at risk for heart disease and determine optimal cardiovascular drug therapy. Earlier this year, the American Medical Association's (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel established a unique Category I code, 83704, described as "the quantitation of lipoprotein particle numbers and lipoprotein subclasses when measured (e.g. nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy)." The establishment of a new code and a CMS payment rate are key steps in making new medical technologies more widely available to patients.