Binitio eXIA160 (in-vivo contrast agent)

eXIA 160 contrast agent is marketed exclusively by SkyScan on behalf of Binitio Biomedical Inc.

Micro computed tomography (micro-CT) for morphological and functional analysis of mouse and rat models of human disease has evolved dramatically in the past few years as a powerful tool for evaluating the efficacy of novel therapeutics. However, due to the insignificant difference in X-ray attenuation within soft tissues and blood vessels, non-contrast imaging is of a limited value unless intended for the imaging of bony structures. Intravascular injection of small water-soluble iodinated radiographic contrast media (RCM) is the most commonly used clinical method to opacify blood vessels. Following injection, contrast agents are distributed rapidly between circulating blood and other extracellular fluids, which to a certain extend also allows visualization of anatomical structures of the perfused organs. Water-soluble iodinated contrast agents are excreted mainly through the kidneys following intravascular administration, and in the absence of renal dysfunction, have very short elimination half-lives. While such transient changes in the levels of contrast within body compartments are not critical in clinical settings due to the short imaging times of clinical CT systems, these changes can significantly impair data quality acquired with slow micro-CT scanners. Thus, it is necessary to use long-residence-time blood pool and organ-specific contrast agents to provide long-lasting density enhancements to successfully differentiate normal and pathologic tissues.

eXIATM160 is an aqueous sterile non-pyrogenic colloidal polydispersed contrast material suitable for intravascular administration in small animal models. eXIATM160 avoids renal filtration and diffusion from the intravascular into the interstitial space, thereby providing the opportunity of using it as a blood pool contrast agent. In contrast to conventional iodinated contrast agents that rapidly diffuse from the vascular compartment, eXIATM160 stays in the blood circulation for a prolonged period of time with the half-life of ~ 1 hour*. The prolonged circulation has several important applications in heart and vascular imaging when a relatively long scanning time (e.g. that involves cardiac or respiratory gating) or follow-up studies with close time intervals are required. After several minutes in the circulation, eXIATM160 is recognized by receptors in the liver and spleen, endocytosed, and metabolized. Thus, in addition to blood pool imaging, eXIATM160 opacifies the liver and spleen, enabling successful imaging of these organs for monitoring liver and spleen disease progression and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.