GE Healthcare's Life Sciences unit has purchased exclusive rights to produce and sell the Rapiscan pharmacological stress agent in territories outside of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The agreement with Rapidscan Pharma Solutions builds on GE's existing distribution rights for Rapiscan in the U.K. and Germany. GE said it would maintain existing supplier and distributor networks by Rapidscan Pharma Solutions to expand its global reach.
Designed as an alternative screening method for patients who can't undergo traditional cardiac stress imaging procedures, Rapiscan (regadenoson) is a pharmacological stress agent used for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging in adult patients, GE said. It stimulates a patient's heart to simulate the effects of exercise, according to the vendor.
Pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma US currently distributes regadenoson commercially under the brand name Lexiscan in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
