MIVA™
MIVA™ represents a new approach to predicting an individual's risk for developing atherosclerosis and the response to treatment.
MIVA™ is a platform assay that is being developed by AtheroChem to directly measure an individual’s macrophage foam cell activity.
Next generation compounds are being developed by various large and small pharmaceutical companies to stop or reverse atherosclerotic lesions. Many of these agents indirectly treat atherosclerotic plaque by modulating plasma molecules such as apoAI. Regardless of mechanism, these compounds stimulate the removal of cellular cholesterol from plaque and thus their efficacy must often involve functional macrophage foam cells.
The clinical version of MIVA™ will allow us to:
- Determine baseline cholesterol efflux capacity of an individual’s macrophage foam cells.
- Predict early on whether an individual’s macrophage foam cells will respond to agents that promote cholesterol efflux.
As a result, MIVA™ will be instrumental in:
- Determining a patient’s risk-profile for developing atherosclerosis.
- Categorizing individuals based on cholesterol efflux capacity. This information will be a critical inclusion/exclusion criterion for clinical trials of drugs that promote the removal of cellular cholesterol from atherosclerotic lesions.