GE HealthCare and CDL Nuclear Technologies Join Forces to Expand Access to Flyrcado™, a Novel Cardiac PET Imaging Agent Across the U.S.
GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) has taken a significant step forward in its efforts to transform cardiac imaging and improve access to advanced diagnostic technologies in the United States. The company announced that it has entered into a Distribution and Services Agreement (DSA) with CardioNavix, a division of CDL Nuclear Technologies, a leading provider of cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) imaging solutions. This partnership is designed to accelerate the nationwide availability of Flyrcado™ (flurpiridaz F18) injection, GE HealthCare’s newly approved cardiac PET imaging agent for the detection of coronary artery disease (CAD).
The collaboration marks an important milestone for both organizations, as it brings together GE HealthCare’s expertise in pharmaceutical diagnostics with CDL Nuclear Technologies’ established reach in private cardiology practices and hospital imaging environments. Together, the companies aim to expand access to cutting-edge cardiac PET imaging, enabling more patients to benefit from advanced diagnostic accuracy and improved care outcomes.
Addressing a Critical Need in Cardiac Diagnostics
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, with coronary artery disease representing a significant share of that burden. Accurate and early diagnosis plays a central role in preventing adverse cardiac events, guiding therapy decisions, and improving long-term patient outcomes.
One of the most widely used diagnostic tools for evaluating patients with known or suspected CAD is myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), which assesses blood flow to the heart muscle. Each year, approximately six million MPI procedures are performed in the U.S. These procedures traditionally rely on single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a modality that has served clinicians for decades but comes with limitations in image resolution and diagnostic performance.
Cardiac PET imaging, though still a smaller portion of the MPI market, is increasingly recognized as a superior alternative in many cases. Current estimates suggest that PET MPI accounts for only 5–10% of all MPI procedures performed annually in the U.S. However, the use of cardiac PET is growing, driven by its advantages in image quality, diagnostic accuracy, and efficiency. The introduction of Flyrcado, combined with the new distribution agreement, is poised to accelerate this trend.
Flyrcado™: A Novel PET Imaging Agent for Coronary Artery Disease
Flyrcado (flurpiridaz F18) injection represents a new generation of cardiac PET imaging agents. It was developed to overcome many of the limitations associated with existing diagnostic approaches. In the multi-center Phase III AURORA clinical trial, Flyrcado demonstrated significantly higher diagnostic efficacy compared to SPECT MPI for detecting CAD.
The trial, conducted across diverse patient populations and geographies, provided compelling evidence supporting Flyrcado’s use in clinical practice. For patients and clinicians, this means more accurate detection of perfusion deficits, greater confidence in diagnostic decision-making, and potentially earlier intervention to prevent adverse outcomes such as myocardial infarction.
With the FDA approval of Flyrcado, GE HealthCare is seeking to expand its adoption across the U.S. market, ensuring that both hospitals and outpatient cardiology practices can integrate the technology into their care models. The agreement with CDL Nuclear Technologies and CardioNavix is central to that mission.
The Role of CDL Nuclear Technologies and CardioNavix
CDL Nuclear Technologies has established itself as a trusted provider of turnkey cardiac PET solutions, serving nearly 225 customer sites across the country. Through its CardioNavix division, CDL offers end-to-end services for cardiology practices, including equipment, software, and staffing solutions tailored to nuclear imaging.
Together, CDL and CardioNavix support approximately 220,000 patient procedures each year—a scale that positions them as a key partner for GE HealthCare in expanding access to Flyrcado. By leveraging their extensive network and expertise, the two companies can help integrate Flyrcado into both private office-based settings and hospital systems, ensuring patients in diverse care environments have access to advanced cardiac PET imaging.
Lon Wilson, CEO of CDL Nuclear Technologies, emphasized the importance of this agreement:
“We’re proud that CardioNavix will be the first distributor to bring Flyrcado to private practice cardiology. Through our nearly 225 customer sites, CDL and CardioNavix support around 220,000 patient procedures each year with end-to-end cardiac PET solutions—and that number continues to grow. Together with GE HealthCare, we’re helping more providers bring advanced cardiac PET to patients in both private office-based settings and hospitals.”
Enhancing Access in Office-Based and Outpatient Care
One of the most significant aspects of this partnership is its focus on extending access to Flyrcado beyond hospitals and into outpatient settings, including private cardiology practices. Historically, advanced imaging technologies have often been concentrated in large hospital systems, creating barriers to access for patients in community settings.
By prioritizing distribution in office-based environments, GE HealthCare and CDL Nuclear Technologies are helping to close this gap. Patients will benefit from greater convenience and potentially faster access to advanced diagnostic imaging, while cardiology practices will gain the ability to offer more comprehensive, in-house diagnostic services.
Eric Ruedinger, vice president and general manager of GE HealthCare’s Pharmaceutical Diagnostics division for the U.S. and Canada, noted:
“This collaboration with CardioNavix is an important step in making Flyrcado available for patients nationwide, across all sites of care. CDL Nuclear Technologies is a trusted name in private cardiology and nuclear imaging, and today’s announcement underscores the confidence both organizations have in Flyrcado’s potential. This agreement helps establish the foundation needed to support GE HealthCare’s vision for Flyrcado’s growth in outpatient cardiac PET imaging and reinforces our commitment to innovation and patient-centered care.”
Implementation and Roll-Out Timeline
The initial roll-out of Flyrcado through CardioNavix and CDL Nuclear Technologies is planned for late 2025. This first phase will focus on establishing the infrastructure and support systems needed to bring the agent into clinical practice. From there, broader expansion is expected throughout 2026, with the aim of making Flyrcado widely available across the U.S.
The phased approach reflects GE HealthCare’s commitment to ensuring that adoption is not only widespread but also supported by the necessary training, logistics, and clinical expertise. By carefully scaling the introduction of Flyrcado, the company seeks to maximize both clinical effectiveness and patient benefit.
GE HealthCare’s Pharmaceutical Diagnostics Leadership
This announcement underscores GE HealthCare’s long-standing leadership in pharmaceutical diagnostics. The company’s Pharmaceutical Diagnostics division is responsible for imaging agents used in approximately 130 million procedures globally each year—equivalent to four patient procedures every second.
GE HealthCare’s Molecular Imaging portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas, including cardiology, neurology, and oncology. Alongside its portfolio of established proprietary products, the company is actively developing an innovative pipeline of next-generation imaging agents designed to enhance diagnostic precision and inform clinical decision-making.
The introduction of Flyrcado into the U.S. market is a natural extension of this strategy, highlighting the company’s focus on enabling better-informed diagnosis and improved patient outcomes.
A Step Toward Broader Transformation in Cardiac Imaging
The collaboration between GE HealthCare and CDL Nuclear Technologies represents more than just a distribution agreement. It signals a broader transformation in how cardiac imaging is delivered and accessed across the United States. By combining a novel, high-performance imaging agent with a robust distribution and service network, the two organizations are paving the way for cardiac PET to play a larger role in the diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease.
As adoption grows, clinicians will have access to more precise diagnostic tools, patients will benefit from earlier and more accurate detection of disease, and the healthcare system as a whole may realize efficiencies through improved outcomes and more targeted use of therapeutic interventions.
