On November 20, 2013, Ci-Co Healthcare and Piramal Imaging announced that both the companies have entered into a strategic partnership and exclusive licensing agreement whereby Ci-Co Healthcare will obtain market authorization from the Korean Health Authorities and commercialize the PET amyloid imaging agent, florbetaben F18* in South Korea. Ci-Co Healthcare has assigned the manufacturing and supply of florbetaben F18 to DuChemBio, a market leading radiopharmacy network in Korea.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, nearly one in every ten or 541,000 senior citizens in Korea suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. This number was up 8.74 percent in 2010, and if the trend continues is expected to surpass one million in 2024.
Beta-amyloid neuritic plaques in the brain, which researchers believe to be important biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, are clumps of sticky, microscopic protein that build up in the space around nerve cells. Piramal Imaging’s PET amyloid agent florbetaben F18 is an injectable drug that in conjunction with PET/CT or MRI/PET scanners identifies beta-amyloid plaques in the human brain.
