Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging Receives European Commission Marketing Authorisation for Its Ultrasound Contrast Agent LUMINITY(TM) (perflutren lipid microsphere)

N. Billerica, Massachusetts (ots/PRNewswire) -

Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging announced today that the
European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for
LUMINITY(TM), an ultrasound contrast agent, for use in patients with
suboptimal echocardiograms who have suspected or established coronary
artery disease.(1)

"With LUMINITY, health care providers in Europe have a new and
effective option to improve the utility of echocardiography, the most
widely used cardiac imaging modality," said Tim Ravenscroft,
president, Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging. "This approval
represents another important milestone in our company's continuing
commitment to advance cardiovascular imaging for patients around the
world."

Echocardiography with contrast enhancement is recommended by the
British and American Societies of Echocardiography as a method of
improving the diagnostic accuracy of suboptimal echocardiograms.(2,3)
In the USA, it is estimated that up to 20 percent of all routine
echocardiograms are suboptimal.(2)

LUMINITY(TM) opacifies the left ventricular chamber and improves
the delineation of the left endocardial border during both rest and
stress echocardiography.(1) In a recent study of stress
echocardiography, where the resting images were
difficult-to-interpret, 95 percent of the LUMINITY(TM) enhanced
images were diagnostic compared to 66 percent of the unenhanced
images.(4) In these patients, LUMINITY(TM) significantly reduced the
need for subsequent testing.(4)

"LUMINITY has been shown to enhance the yield of diagnostic images
both at rest and during stress echocardiography," said Dr. R. Senior,
director of Cardiac Research at Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, UK.
"LUMINITY will expand the use of contrast in cardiology."

LUMINITY(TM) has been approved with no cardiovascular
contraindications. It has been administered in more than one million
patients worldwide and is approved for use in 10 other countries
including Canada and the USA, where it is marketed as DEFINITY(R).

About Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging

Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging is a worldwide leader in
cardiovascular imaging whose mission is to extend and enhance human
life by offering innovative approaches to see deeper into the heart
and vasculature. Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY),
a pharmaceutical and related health care products company.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging's European operations is based
in the UK and is a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals
Ltd.

References:
(1) LUMINITY(TM) SPC. September 2006.
(2) Waggoner AD et al. J Am Soc Echocardiography 2001; 14(5): 417-429.
(3) British Society of Echocardiography Policy Committee. Heart 2004:
90(Suppl V): vi23-vi30.
(4) Weiss RJ et al. J Am Soc Echocardiol 2005: 18(5): Abstract P1-03.

LUMINITY(TM) is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical
Imaging, Inc.

DEFINITY(R) is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb
Medical Imaging, Inc.

Web site: http://www.bms.com

ots Originaltext: Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Brian Henry, +33-1-58-83-69-38, brian.henry@bms.com, or Lili Gordon,
+1-617-733-7537, lili.gordon@bms.com, both of Bristol-Myers Squibb