"I think that this is clearly significantly better than what we have now," Dr. W. Frank Peacock of the Cleveland Clinic, one of the study's lead investigators, said in an interview. "It raises the bar." The Brahms test was approved for use in Europe on October 1. Nils Morgenthaler, the company's vice president for global medical affairs, said this study would be part of a package Brahms will submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of this year as it seeks approval in the world's biggest market. "If approved in the U.S., the MR-proADM test will help ensure patients are accurately diagnosed and rapidly receive the treatment they need," Peacock said. Results of the study were presented at the American Heart Association scientific meeting in New Orleans. Morgenthaler said the company would be open to licensing its test to one of the larger diagnostic companies, such as Roche Holding AG. He also said Brahms was likely to become a public company in the foreseeable future.