We are happy to announce our support to the upcoming new phase of the pet tracer project of AC IMMUNE, a Swiss biopharmaceutical company.
In the Parkinson patients’ brain, alpha-synuclein is a protein that becomes toxic to brain cells once it is aggregated into clumps. That is why this protein is considered the most promising target for a so-called “disease-modifying” Parkinson’s therapy (i.e. a therapy that slows, stops or even reverses the progression of the disease).
At present, it is impossible to measure the level of alpha-synuclein in a living brain. Yet, this information is critical to diagnose PD earlier, track the progression of the disease over time, and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutics aimed at reducing alpha-synuclein aggregates.
To respond to this challenge, AC Immune is developing an alpha-synuclein tracer that features a radioactive tag which binds selectively to alpha-synuclein in the brain and can be read by a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. It is the first time ever that such a selective alpha-synuclein PET tracer will be tested on humans. If the trial is successful, the tracer could be used in ongoing trials for Parkinson treatments. In addition, it could be used for other related brain diseases and thus have a widespread application and impact!
Watch our previous video about PET Tracer.