FDA approves Flyrcado (flurpiridaz F 18) radioactive diagnostic for enhanced diagnosis of coronary artery disease

GE HealthCare  announced that the FDA has granted approval of Flyrcado (flurpiridaz F 18) injection, a first of its kind positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (PET MPI) agent, for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD). Indicated for patients with known or suspected CAD, Flyrcado delivers higher diagnostic efficacy compared to single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) MPI, the predominant procedure used in nuclear cardiology today. Flyrcado, which can be manufactured in an offsite pharmacy and delivered as a ready-to-use unit dose, has the potential to expand clinician and patient access to PET MPI, including improving diagnostic accuracy in difficult-to-image patients such as those with a high body mass index (BMI) and women.

With a half-life of 109-minutes—significantly longer than existing PET MPI tracers—Flyrcado removes the need for on-site tracer production and generator maintenance and enables distribution to a wide network of hospitals and imaging centers. This longer half-life also means Flyrcado brings the first practical opportunity to combine exercise stress testing with cardiac PET imaging for CAD, enabling the most robust protocol for evaluating ischemia in patients. Furthermore, clinicians would have the ability to rescan a patient during the same imaging session in the event of technical difficulties, rather than rescheduling an additional scan.

Kevin O’Neill, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Diagnostics (PDx) segment of GE HealthCare, said, “As the first and only FDA-approved F 18 PET MPI radiotracer for CAD detection, Flyrcado can make a real difference to clinicians and their patients. This is another example of GE HealthCare’s commitment to innovating and investing to shape the future of molecular imaging, increasing diagnostic confidence and addressing unmet patient needs.”

Flyrcado will be available in initial U.S. markets in early 2025 with expanding availability thereafter.