Schering AG to develop new compound to detect Alzheimer’s

Schering AG has entered into a collaboration with Avid Radiopharmaceuticals to produce a new compound with which to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Avid has been producing new drugs that bind to amyloid plaques in the brain, which are thought to be a major cause of AD. The agent will be able to congregate around the plaques and can be detected by positron emission tomography scanners.

Trials have already demonstrated that Avid’s drug will “accumulate preferentially” in the brains of AD patients. Schering AG says the technology could benefit the development of new drugs to treat AD.

Under the agreement, Schering AG will acquire exclusive rights to develop and commercialise the compounds in question.

Schering AG’s Dr Hans Maier remarked: “With this novel approach we could be amongst the first to offer a method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease using objective physical measures. We are looking forward to investigating the promise of such innovative agents.”

Dr Daniel Skovronsky, president and chief executive officer of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, added: “We are particularly pleased to establish our first product collaboration with Schering AG given their strong commercial presence and track record as a global pioneer in the development of diagnostic imaging agents.”

Amyloid plaques – congregations of waxy protein structures – are currently the focus of a number of areas of pharmaceutical research, since their appearance around organs has been linked to the development of brain diseases like AD, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

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