BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cerveau Technologies Inc. today announced an agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to support multiple projects over the next several years. These research projects are for studies of an early stage imaging agent (MK-6240) to be used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans for assessing the status and progression of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the brain. NFTs made up of aggregated tau protein are a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.
As part of the agreement, Cerveau will contract with the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, a research center and PET imaging facility within MGH, to manufacture and supply the [18F]MK-6240 needed for initiatives in the greater Boston area. “We are glad to be part of the effort to make Tau PET available to the New England research community as it is becoming a tool of choice for in vivo assessment of tau pathology in many brain disorders,” said Dr. Georges El Fakhri, Director of the MGH Gordon Center.
According to Dr. Keith Johnson, leader of the Aging NeuroImaging Program at the MGH Gordon Center, and the Harvard Aging Brain Study, “the ability to detect tau brain pathology in living humans is a major medical breakthrough. The value of this novel technology has already been demonstrated to improve the likelihood we can develop treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, however, brain tau deposition is a major player in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, fronto-temporal dementia, and several forms of Parkinsonism. This means that successful research program initiatives for novel radio-pharmaceuticals such as MK6240 are an important advance toward refinement and optimization of tau PET, which is the rapidly developing biomarker technology aimed at tracking tau pathology in a variety of brain disorders.”
“Cerveau welcomes this opportunity to work with the MGH researchers, who have a very successful history of leadership in this field to understand the application of MK-6240 and how it may benefit patients with brain diseases. The collaboration with the Gordon Center at MGH will also provide access to our pharmaceutical partners in support of various therapy trials and support our global production network in Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, Australia and the United States as well facilitate novel research at MGH in the pursuit of evaluating potential preventive treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Rick Hiatt, President and CEO of Cerveau Technologies, Inc.
About Cerveau Technologies, Inc.
Cerveau Technologies, Inc. is a partnership between Enigma Biomedical Group, Inc. and Sinotau Pharmaceutical Group. Cerveau's vision is to globally develop diagnostics and technology that positively impact patients with neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease.
