Agency Clears Biosite’s Blood Clot Detector

The Food and Drug Administration approved Biosite Inc.’s Triage D-Dimer test, which allows emergency-room physicians to detect potentially deadly pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots in the artery that leads to the lungs from the heart.

The approval comes as Biosite’s biggest product, Triage BNP, a test used to diagnose and assess the severity of a heart attack, faces increased competitive pressures. But the current market for the new test totals just $25 million; Wall Street expects Triage BNP to post sales of $150 million this year.

Shares of San Diego-based Biosite slipped $1.51 to $55 on Nasdaq.

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-- Denise Gellene