MYDICAR treatment

MYDICAR treatment involves a one-time outpatient infusion in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, similar to undergoing an angiogram. MYDICAR is designed to restore levels of an enzyme known to play a key role in the progression of heart failure.

Heart failure is the inability of the heart to pump blood efficiently due to weakening and enlargement of the ventricles. Nearly 6 million individuals are currently diagnosed with heart failure in the United States according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Despite optimal guideline-directed therapies employing a wide range of pharmacologic, device and surgical options, many heart failure patients deteriorate over time. 

The long-term prognosis associated with heart failure is worse than that associated with the majority of cancers, with a mortality rate of approximately 50 percent at five years following initial diagnosis. In the United Sates, over 1 million primary heart failure-related hospitalizations and over 280,000 heart failure-related deaths occur annually.

 The estimated direct cost of heart failure in the United States in 2012 was greater than $60 billion, over half of which was related to repeated hospitalizations. The one- and six-month readmission rates after heart failure-related hospitalization are close to 25 and 50 percent, respectively, and there is growing pressure on hospitals to reduce readmissions for heart failure.