Mölndal/Uppsala, Sweden, July 2023: Antaros Medical AB (“Antaros Medical”) and Antaros Tracer AB (“Antaros Tracer”) have formalised a collaboration agreement with Takeda, to evaluate a novel Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracer for use in fibrosis/fibrogenesis linked to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH; previously called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH) and two additional fibrotic indications.
This is an important step in addressing the unmet need for quality biomarkers for fibrotic disease. Fibrosis can occur in almost any organ or tissue in the body, making it a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The research activity in this field is high, both in effective medicines to improve outcomes for patients affected by fibrotic diseases. The current PET tracer is intended to probe the presence of platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta (PDGFRβ) that is expressed on activated fibroblasts, the cells implicated in the formation of fibrosis.
Current methods to assess fibrosis are either invasive or insufficiently sensitive to detect early stages of fibrosis. There is a high unmet need for non-invasive and sensitive biomarkers that can help detect, stage, and elucidate the molecular processes that drive the pathology of fibrosis and enable the assessment of treatment effects in the search for novel antifibrotic drugs. PET tracers have the promise to be important biomarkers supporting drug development, both for advancing our understanding of a drug and its target at a molecular level, and for providing important quantitative insights into human biology, including potentially treatment response.
Johannes Hulthe, CEO Antaros Medical AB comments: “We are very proud that our capabilities to develop and bring new PET-tracers into clinical utility are recognised and seen as key potential tools to support decision making in drug development”
Antaros Medical has extensive experience in supporting pharmaceutical companies with insights for drug development decisions, through design and delivery of clinical imaging trials. The company has also demonstrated an effective set-up for bringing new imaging biomarkers, including novel PET-tracers, into clinical use for drug development.
About Antaros Medical
Antaros Medical is pioneering imaging methodologies to design and deliver clinical imaging studies for improved, evidence-based decision making in drug development. The company is specialised in cardiorenal & metabolic diseases and oncology. The company has a global network of collaboration partners and customers, including both Big Pharma and Biotechs, and is a partner in several European collaboration initiatives such as Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and COST. Antaros Medical has delivered small complex, mechanistic studies as well as multi-centre clinical trials worldwide utilising our innovative imaging methods. The global headquarter and imaging CoreLab are based in Sweden. In addition, a USA subsidiary is recently opened. For more information visit antarosmedical.com
About Antaros Tracer
Antaros Tracer is a sister company to Antaros Medical, formed to ensure an expedited and focused development of new Positron Emission Tomography (PET) tracers to be used as important biomarkers in drug development studies. Current disease area focus is fibrotic disease and immune-system activation in immune-oncology, inflammatory disease, and immunology.