Merck Sharp and Dohme to ally with GE Healthcare on new study

Merck Sharp and Dohme will be allying with GE Healthcare to carry out a new clinical trial of a promising therapy for Alzheimer's disease.

The clinical study collaboration, license and supply agreement will allow the pharmaceutical company to use GE Healthcare's investigational positron emission tomography imaging agent [18F]Flutemetamol to support the development of its MK-8931 compound.

This novel oral beta amyloid precursor protein site cleaving enzyme inhibitor has shown potential benefits in earlier studies, with [18F]Flutemetamol to be used to help select patients for clinical trials.

A joint Merck and GE Healthcare Imaging Advisory Committee will oversee the planned imaging studies.

Dr Darryle Schoepp, senior vice-president and head of neuroscience and ophthalmology at Merck Research Laboratories, said: "There is a serious unmet need for a reliable method for measuring beta amyloid deposits to help physicians diagnose Alzheimer’s disease at its different stages and study its progression."

This comes after Merck Sharp and Dohme announced a new medical information collaboration with The JAMA Network earlier this month.