Currently, Alzheimer's disease cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death, when a brain autopsy is performed on a patient and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain – which are a characteristic pathology of the disease – can be found. Accurate diagnosis during life can be challenging, particularly in the early stages of Alzheimer's, when symptoms are mild and non-definitive. However, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Avid) and Cardinal Health are working together to change that.
Avid and Cardinal Health today announced that more than 100 clinical centers and more than 700 patients have now participated in a Phase III clinical trial that is testing whether Avid's molecular imaging agent Florbetapir F 18 can detect Alzheimer's disease in living patients. Florbetapir F 18 (also known as 18F AV-45 and Florbetapir) is used with positron emission tomography (PET) technology to detect beta-amyloid plaque deposits in the brain.
A critical factor in the successful enrollment of patients in these extensive Florbetapir clinical trials has been Cardinal Health's ability to manufacture and deliver fluorine 18 (F 18), the raw material needed to create imaging agents like Florbetapir. Because F-18's potency quickly begins to diminish immediately after it is produced, it needs to be manufactured in close proximity to the clinical imaging sites where it will be administered to patients.
Operating the largest network of radiopharmacies in the United States, Cardinal Health can safely and efficiently manufacture and distribute F 18 to more than 85 percent of all U.S. hospitals within three hours. The company's unmatched nuclear pharmacy scale, combined with its comprehensive fleet and logistics capabilities have played a critical role in enabling patients, hospitals, clinics and research facilities from around the nation to participate in Avid's groundbreaking studies.