Bracco was quick to add that it does not anticipate additional product discontinuations. Image Credit: Andrii Yalanskyi / Shutterstock.

Bracco Diagnostics, a US subsidiary of Italian diagnostic imaging company Bracco Imaging, has discontinued the development of three of its barium products.

The company was light on details on the discontinued products, stating that the barium products were not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bracco cited a “significant decline” in the use of these products as the reason for discontinuation.

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Bracco was quick to add that it does not anticipate additional product discontinuations. Furthermore, the company is planning to file for US regulatory approval for its barium-based abdominal imaging agent later this year.

Barium imaging agents are commonly used to conduct contrast abdominal X-rays. These are used to diagnose a variety of upper and lower gastrointestinal disorders, including tumours, ulcers, and other inflammatory conditions.

The market for diagnostic imaging agents is expected to grow from being worth approximately $37.3bn in 2024 to over $47.5bn in 2030, as per GlobalData analysis. The sector for contrast agents, including barium-based products, is expected to grow from being worth $3.7bn to $4.3bn in the same period.

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Bracco plans to launch three products in the next two years. CitraClear is a favoured beverage designed to increase the palatability of imaging agents and a launch is planned for the third quarter of 2024. In the following quarter, Bracco plans to launch a ‘Mini’ packaging version of its FDA-approved contrast agent, Varibar (barium sulphate). Next year, Bracco plans to launch a new flavour of a barium imaging agent for a CT [computed tomography] scan.

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