Date: 2018-03-15
Type of
information: Presentation of results at a congress
phase: preclinical
Announcement: presentation of results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, in Chicago at the AAT-AD/PDTM* Focus Meeting 2018
Company: AC Immune (Switzerland)
Product: alpha-synuclein-PET tracers
Action
mechanism:
- imaging agent. alpha-synuclein-PET tracer. AC Immune's proprietary Morphomer™ chemistry technology platform is designed to interact with misfolded and aggregated proteins. Promising small molecules have been identified with good selectivity for alpha-synuclein and suitable properties for the development as PET ligands.
- A brain PET scan is an imaging test of the brain involving an imaging device and a PET tracer. No alpha-synuclein-PET tracer has received regulatory approval for commercial distribution, which represents an important medical need, not only in Parkinson's disease but also in other synucleinopathies such as dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Once the alpha-synuclein-PET tracer is introduced to the body, it transiently enters the brain and binds to abnormal alpha-synuclein protein structures (Lewy bodies, Lewy neurites etc.). Through the radiotracer on the tracer molecule, the imaging device detects the bound alpha-synuclein imaging agent and creates pictures reflecting the amount and distribution of pathological alpha-synuclein in the brain.
Disease: Parkinson's disease
Therapeutic
area: Neurodegenerative diseases
Country:
Trial
details:
Latest
news:
- • On March 15, 2018, AC Immune announced a significant step for a first potential PET tracer for Parkinson's disease. It plans to initiate a first in human study, scheduled for the second half of 2018. The new compound is highly selective for alpha-synuclein aggregates, an established target for Parkinson's disease and other diseases with alpha-synuclein pathologies (referred to as synucleinopathies in general). New data will be presented at the AAT-AD/PDTM* Focus Meeting 2018 in Torino, Italy, today, March 15, 2018.
- This next generation tracer was discovered using the company's proprietary Morphomer™ chemistry technology platform. AC Immune has been successfully collaborating on this program with Biogen since April 2016. The companies will continue to further research, develop and clinically validate this alpha-synuclein PET tracer that will be used as an imaging biomarker for Parkinson's disease with an aim to enable the clinical development of new disease-modifying therapies. This project from AC Immune is being supported by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).
Is
general: Yes
