Article Excerpt:
TWST: We'd like to begin with a brief historical sketch of HemoSense and a picture of the things you are doing at the present time.Mr. Merselis: HemoSense was founded in 1997 and in the time between then and now we have designed, manufactured, and have begun marketing a small handheld system for blood diagnostics to be used by both patients and healthcare professionals for the management of the very common blood anticoagulant warfarin, sometimes known as Coumadin'.
TWST: Would you describe the conditions needed to take warfarin?
Mr. Merselis: There are 4 million people in the US and 7 million people
worldwide taking warfarin every day. It results in more than 21 million
prescriptions annually in the US alone, and these are people who, for
some cardiac-related indication or another, require that their blood not
clot as fast as the normal individual. Patients with installed
mechanical heart valves are typically on warfarin for the rest of their
lives. Another indication is atrial fibrillation. A majority of cardiac
patients with atrial fibrillation tend to be on warfarin for the rest of
their lives. Then there are short-term uses such as deep vein thrombosis
and post-stroke uses for warfarin. All of these patients need to have
this particular therapeutic monitored. It's very much like controlling a
diabetic's insulin. You need frequent testing to control and optimize
the warfarin dosage for these cardiac patients.
Tickers included in this excerpt: HEM
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