The novel perflutren-based ultrasound-enhancing agent MVT-100 demonstrated superior left ventricular opacification and significantly reduced acoustic shadowing compared with Definity, an approved comparator, with no serious adverse events reported in an early-phase study.
The findings were presented by Evan Unger, MD, FACR, who is affiliated with Microvascular Therapeutics, the developer of MVT-100, as a late-breaking abstract at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) 2026 Scientific Sessions.
Study Details
In this prospective interventional phase 1/2 study, healthy volunteers underwent echocardiography and received ascending dilute bolus doses of MVT-100 or Definity, a US Food and Drug Administration–approved perflutren lipid microsphere ultrasound-enhancing agent, at 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mL. Each dilute bolus was prepared using 1.3 mL of activated product and 8.7 mL of normal saline.
Participants were monitored prior to and following contrast administration using vital sign assessments, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and laboratory testing. Three expert echocardiographers, blinded to the administered agent, independently evaluated images obtained at each dose level during baseline and post-dose imaging intervals of 0 to 1.5, 1.5 to 3.0, and 3.0 to 4.5 minutes.
Study assessments included left ventricular (LV) cavity opacification, segmental endocardial border delineation based on the 17-segment ASE model, and the presence of excessive acoustic shadowing.
Key Findings
No serious adverse events were reported with either MVT-100 or the comparator. The researchers also observed no clinically significant changes in vital signs, ECG findings, hematology, serum chemistry, or immunologic parameters following administration of either agent.
Across all four dose levels and all post-dose imaging intervals, MVT-100 produced higher LV opacification scores than the comparator. Analysis of the 0-to-3 opacification scale showed a statistically significant shift toward higher scores with MVT-100 vs the comparator.
Overall shadowing rates were approximately 3% with MVT-100 compared with 8% with the comparator, “representing a significant reduction in attenuation and improved visualization of myocardial segments,” the researchers wrote. Segment-level analyses likewise showed statistically significant reductions in acoustic shadowing across most LV segments.
According to the researchers, representative echocardiographic images demonstrated improved cavity opacification with less attenuation following administration of MVT-100 vs the comparator.
The researchers concluded that MVT-100 demonstrated superior LV opacification and significantly reduced acoustic shadowing compared with Definity while maintaining a favorable safety profile. They wrote that the findings support further pivotal development of MVT-100 as a next-generation ultrasound-enhancing agent for echocardiography.
Formal disclosure information was not provided in the abstract materials reviewed.
