Guerbet Announces Appointment of Thomas McLaughlin as Vice President for North America

PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Guerbet, a global specialist in contrast agents and solutions for medical imaging, announced today that Thomas McLaughlin has been appointed Vice President, North America. In this role, McLaughlin will oversee and ensure the growth of Guerbet diagnostic and interventional solutions together with the digital and AI portfolio.

"I'm thrilled to build on Guerbet's successful growth in North America over the last several years to help us solidify leadership and trust with our radiology partners and the patients they treat," stated McLaughlin.

McLaughlin takes on the Vice President role after serving as Guerbet's General Manager of North American Sales and Service, where he led the company's North American sales group to consecutive year-over-year growth. Prior to joining Guerbet, McLaughlin held various Sales Leadership and VP roles both inside and outside the industry, including roles at Nemoto International and E-Z-EM.

"We are delighted that Tom McLaughlin will lead Guerbet's North America Executive team," said David Hale, Guerbet Chief Executive Officer. "From the successful launch of Dotarem® in North America seven years ago, to the launch of our interventional imaging business and most recently our entry into the digital solutions space, Tom has the experience, knowledge, leadership, and client expertise to take us into the new decade, increasing Guerbet's visibility and growth as a leading player in medical imaging worldwide."

McLaughlin holds a Radiologic Technologist degree from Temple University, an Associate in Science from Widener University, and both a Bachelor of Science in business and a Master of Business Administration from California Coast University.

About Guerbet
Guerbet is a pioneer in the contrast-agent field, with more than 90 years' experience, and is a leader in medical imaging worldwide. It offers a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and services for diagnostic and interventional imaging, to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients. With 8% of revenue dedicated to R&D and more than 200 employees distributed amongst its four centers in France, Israel and the United States, Guerbet is a substantial investor in research and innovation. Guerbet (GBT) is listed on Euronext Paris (segment B – mid caps) and generated €790 million in revenue in 2018. For more information about Guerbet, please visit www.guerbet.com.

Dotarem® Important Safety Information

WARNING: NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS (NSF)
Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) increase the risk for NSF among patients with impaired elimination of the drugs. A void use of GBCAs in these patients unless the diagnostic information is essential and not available with non-contrasted MRI or other modalities. NSF may result in fatal or debilitating fibrosis affecting the skin, muscle and internal organs.

• The risk for NSF appears highest among patients with:
  • Chronic, severe kidney disease (GFR < 30 mL/min/l.73m2), or
  • Acute kidney injury.
• Screen patients for acute kidney injury and other conditions that may reduce renal function. For patients at risk for chronically reduced renal function (e.g. age> 60 years, hypertension, diabetes), estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) through laboratory testing.
• For patients at highest risk for NSF, do not exceed the recommended DOTAREM dose and allow a sufficient period of time for elimination of the drug from the body prior to any re-administration.

Indications and Usage
DOTAREM® (gadoterate meglumine) injection is a prescription gadolinium-based contrast agent indicated for intravenous use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in brain (intracranial), spine and associated tissues in adult and pediatric patients (including term neonates) to detect and visualize areas with disruption of the blood brain barrier (BBB) and/or abnormal vascularity.

Contraindications
History of clinically important hypersensitivity reactions to DOTAREM.

Warnings and Precautions

• Hypersensitivity Reactions: Anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions have been reported with DOTAREM, involving cardiovascular, respiratory, and/or cutaneous manifestations. Some patients experienced circulatory collapse and died. In most cases, initial symptoms occurred within minutes of DOTAREM administration and resolved with prompt emergency treatment.
• Before DOTAREM administration, assess all patients for any history of a reaction to contrast media, bronchial asthma and/or allergic disorders. These patients may have an increased risk for a hypersensitivity reaction to DOTAREM.
• Administer DOTAREM only in situations where trained personnel and therapies are promptly available for the treatment of hypersensitivity reactions, including personnel trained in resuscitation.
• Gadolinium Retention: Gadolinium is retained for months or years in several organs. The highest concentrations have been identified in the bone, followed by brain, skin, kidney, liver and spleen. The duration of retention also varies by tissue, and is longest in bone. Linear GBCAs cause more retention than macrocyclic GBCAs.
• Consequences of gadolinium retention in the brain have not been established. Adverse events involving multiple organ systems have been reported in patients with normal renal function without an established causal link to gadolinium retention.
• Acute Kidney Injury: In patients with chronically reduced renal function, acute kidney injury requiring dialysis has occurred with the use of GBCAs. The risk of acute kidney injury may increase with increasing dose of the contrast agent; administer the lowest dose necessary for adequate imaging.
• Extravasation and Injection Site Reactions: Ensure catheter and venous patency before the injection of DOTAREM. Extravasation into tissues during DOTAREM administration may result in tissue irritation.

Adverse Reactions

• The most common adverse reactions associated with DOTAREM in clinical trials were nausea, headache, injection site pain, injection site coldness and rash.
• Serious adverse reactions in the Postmarketing experience have been reported with DOTAREM. These serious adverse reactions include but are not limited to: arrhythmia, cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, pharyngeal edema, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, coma and convulsion.

Use in Specific Populations

• Pregnancy: GBCAs cross the human placenta and result in fetal exposure and gadolinium retention. The human data on the association between GBCAs and adverse fetal outcomes are limited and inconclusive. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk of fetal exposure to GBCAs.
• Lactation: There are no data on the presence of gadoterate in human milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. However, published lactation data on other GBCAs indicate that 0.01 to 0.04% of the maternal gadolinium dose is present in breast milk.
• Pediatric Use: The safety and efficacy of DOTAREM at a single dose of 0.1 mmol/kg has been established in pediatric patients from birth (term neonates ~ 37 weeks gestational age) to 17 years of age based on clinical data. The safety of DOT AREM has not been established in preterm neonates. No cases of NSF associated with DOTAREM or any other GBCA have been identified in pediatric patients age 6 years and younger.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

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SOURCE Guerbet LLC USA