ADMIRE-HF Clinical Trial Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Iobenguane I 123 Injection Studied for Its Ability to Identify Risk in Patients with Symptomatic Heart Failure (HF)

PRINCETON, New Jersey, May 17, 2010 - The ADMIRE-HF (AdreView Myocardial Imaging for Risk Evaluation in Heart
Failure) trial, the results of which were published in the May 18th, 2010
issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is a prospective
study evaluating cardiac sympathetic nerve imaging using Iobenguane I 123
Injection (AdreView(TM)) for identifying symptomatic heart failure patients
most likely to experience cardiac events.

According to the study, the drug imaging results produced a model with
four independent variables contributing to the prediction of the primary
outcome events.

"Increased cardiac sympathetic activity is a prominent feature of heart
failure and is associated with progressive deterioration and remodeling of
the myocardium, inexorable decline in left ventricular function, and
worsening symptoms," said Professor Roxy Senior, MD, Director of Cardiac
Research Northwick Park Hospital, an author of the study. "Our results
suggest that in appropriately selected patients with heart failure, the
123I-mIBG imaging procedure can alert clinicians to the potential need for
considering additional treatments."

About the ADMIRE-HF Trial

ADMIRE-HF consisted of two identical open-label phase III clinical
studies evaluating the cardiac sympathetic nerves at the cellular level. The
studies were conducted in 96 centers in North America and Europe. Nine
hundred sixty-four patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class II
(83%) and III (17%) heart failure (66% ischemic, 34% non-ischemic) and left
ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than or equal to 35% (mean 27.1%;
median 29%) underwent early (15-minute) and late (four-hour) planar and
single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial imaging.
Patients were then observed every six to seven weeks over the course of two
years to monitor for occurrence of cardiac events. The composite endpoint was
the time to first occurrence of NYHA heart failure class progression, a
potentially life-threatening arrhythmic event, or cardiac death, as
determined by an independent adjudication panel.(1)

The researchers used the heart/mediastinum ratio (H/M) to assess the
functionality of the sympathetic nerves; H/M is a ratio of the nerve function
in the heart compared to that of a reference background region in the
mediastinum (the mass of tissues and organs between the two pleural sacs,
which separate the heart from the lungs). The study was designed to
demonstrate that if the cardiac nerves are damaged or reduced in number, as
reflected by reduced 123I-mIBG uptake in the heart, the patient is at
increased risk for heart failure progression, arrhythmic events, and cardiac
death.(1)

The primary analysis employed a Cox proportional hazards model to compare
outcomes in subjects with H/M of <1.60 and greater than or equal to 1.60 on
late planar imaging. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis
incorporated imaging and clinical variables into a prediction model for
adverse cardiac events.(1)

"Using imaging tests are consistent with current trends toward gaining
improved and earlier understanding of heart disease at a molecular level and
may enable preventive management strategies," said Arnold F. Jacobson, MD,
PhD, Head, Cardiac Center of Excellence, GE Healthcare. "This testing method
is not new, however ADMIRE-HF is the first large-scale multicenter
prospective validation of the potential prognostic power and provides data
that clinicians may be able to use to improve current practice."

ADMIRE-HF Results

The evaluable efficacy population consisted of 961 patients. During the
median follow-up period of 17 months, first cardiac events were observed in
237 patients (25%); these included 163 cases of heart failure progression, 50
arrhythmic events, and 24 cardiac deaths. The risk of cardiac events (the
trial's primary endpoint) was significantly lower for patients with an H/M
greater than or equal to 1.60, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.40 (97.5%
confidence interval [CI]: 0.25 to 0.64; p < 0.001). A Cox proportional
hazards analysis based on a continuous numerical H/M (i.e., rather than on
separating patients according to H/M greater than or equal to 1.60 or <1.60)
revealed an even lower HR of 0.22 (97.5% CI: 0.10 to 0.47; p < 0.001).(1)

Survival analysis revealed two-year event rates of 15% for patients with
an H/M greater than or equal to 1.60, compared to 38% for patients whose H/M
was below 1.60. Hazard ratios for individual events, based on an H/M
threshold of 1.60, were as follows: heart failure progression, 0.49 (95% CI:
0.32 to 0.77; p = 0.002); arrhythmic events, 0.37 (95% CI: 0.16 to 0.85; p =
0.37); and cardiac death, 0.14 (95% CI: 0.03 to 0.58; p = 0.006).(1)

A multivariate analysis of the pooled ADMIRE-HF data using only the
planar 123I-mIBG imaging results produced a model with four independent
variables contributing to the prediction of the primary outcome events: late
H/M, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), NYHA functional class, and
plasma B-type brain natriuretic peptide (BNP).(1)

In subanalyses, the H/M provided significant information to complement
BNP - a frequently used marker of prognosis in heart failure patients - for
identifying patients at the highest risk for cardiac events and cardiac
death. The two-year cardiac event rate for patients with BNP above the median
of 140 ng/l was 42%, but among patients with H/M greater than or equal to
1.60, the rate was 20.5%. Whereas there were no cardiac deaths among the 57
patients with BNP >140 ng/l and H/M greater than or equal to 1.60, there were
42 cardiac deaths among the 406 patients (10.3%) with above-median BNP and
H/M <1.60.(1)

The subanalyses also demonstrated a modest but statistically significant
positive correlation between LVEF and H/M. The two-year cardiac event rate
for individuals with LVEF <30% and H/M greater than or equal to 1.60 was less
than half that of all patients with LVEF <30% (17.6% vs. 40.3%,
respectively). There were two cardiac deaths among the 81 patients (2.5%)
with LVEF <30% and H/M greater than or equal to 1.60, as compared with 39
cardiac deaths among the 409 (9.5%) patients with LVEF <30% and H/M <1.60.
There were no cardiac deaths among the 120 patients with LVEF greater than or
equal to 30% and H/M greater than or equal to 1.60.(1)

About Heart Failure

According to the American Heart Association, 5.7 million Americans suffer
from heart failure. Cardiovascular disease in all its forms claims about as
many lives each year as cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases,
accidents, and diabetes combined. Patients who have previously suffered from
heart failure have a sudden death rate that is six to nine times greater than
the general population.(1)

About AdreView

AdreView(TM) (Iobenguane I 123 Injection) is a molecular imaging agent.
GE Healthcare began developing AdreView in 2004, and the agent was granted
orphan-drug status by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December
2006. In September 2008, AdreView was approved by the FDA for the detection
of primary or metastatic pheochromocytoma or neuroblastoma as an adjunct to
other diagnostic tests. In the United States, it is not currently approved
for use in cardiac imaging.

AdreView is approved in Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Belgium,
Holland, Denmark, and Norway for the functional assessment of the cardiac
sympathetic innervation.

Important Safety Information for AdreView

Hypersensitivity reactions have followed AdreView administration. Have
anaphylactic and hypersensitivity treatment measures available prior to
AdreView administration. AdreView contains benzyl alcohol (10.3 mg/mL) which
may cause serious reactions in premature or low birth-weight infants.
Patients with severe renal impairment may have increased radiation exposure
and decreased quality of AdreView images. Failure to block thyroid iodine
uptake may result in iodine 123 accumulation in the thyroid. Drugs which
block norepinephrine uptake or deplete norepinephrine stores may decrease
AdreView uptake in neuroendocrine tumors. When medically feasible, stop these
drugs before AdreView administration and monitor patients for withdrawal
signs and symptoms.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services
that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical
imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring
systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies,
performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers
to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In
addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global
policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable
healthcare systems.

Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join
us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing
costs, increasing access and improving quality and efficiency around the
world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a US$17 billion
unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs
more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and
their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE
Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

(1) Jacobson AF, Senior R, Cerquiera MD, et al. Myocardial iodine-123
meta-iodobenzylguanidine imaging and cardiac events in heart failure:
results of the prospective ADMIRE-HF (AdreView Myocardial Imaging for Risk
Evaluation in Heart Failure) study J Am Coll Cardiol. In Press

(2) American Heart Association Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, 2009
Update

David Patti of JFK Communications, Inc., +1-609-514-5117, for GE Healthcare