Siemens Collaborates with Wyeth to Develop Alzheimer's Therapies

The Molecular Imaging division of Siemens Medical Solutions
(Erlangen, Germany), a leading provider of molecular imaging equipment, molecular imaging tracers, and services, announced an agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (Collegeville, PA, USA), to utilize Siemens' new research imaging agent in Wyeth's clinical studies of new therapies in development for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

"Molecular imaging is rapidly becoming an important element in the drug research and development process,” said Michael Reitermann, president, Molecular Imaging, Siemens Medical Solutions. "Molecular imaging is already revolutionizing the detection and diagnosis of diseases like Alzheimer's, and now, it is becoming an indispensable component in the development of exciting new drug therapies, improving patient health.”

Molecular imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET), use imaging agents to non-invasively characterize metabolic activity in cells by visually "lighting up” energy-consuming cells. The technique allows clinicians to see and quantify the biology of diseases such as cancer and AD.

Siemens' new Alzheimer's imaging agent, which recently received U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance to begin phase I clinical trials, is designed to work differently by specifically seeking out and identifying the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neuronal tangles in the brain--the definitive characteristics of the disease that cause cell disruption and death. If clinical trials are successful and FDA clearance is obtained, the imaging agent could enable clinicians to identify the areas of the brain affected by amyloid plaque deposition and neuronal tangle formation, and differentiate it from other neurological diseases--a first in the imaging of neurologic disorders.

PET molecular imaging is one of the fastest growing areas of imaging for both research and clinical applications. As the demand increases for more advanced imaging tracer development programs, Siemens is working with academic and pharmaceutical partners to produce technologies that will ultimately advance diagnosis and treatment. Siemens' investments in molecular imaging technologies and imaging tracers help characterize, quantify, and visualize the biology of disease.


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