Inflammatory processes are an integral part in a wide range of diseases. Immunotherapies and anti-inflammatory approaches are emerging as key strategies to treat and manage disease. Yet, there is a need for non-invasive tools to study immune processes to support the development of new therapies in this area.
Cluster of differentiation 69 (CD69) is a general surface marker for activated immune cells, especially in the early activation process. A positron emission tomography (PET) tracer for CD69 has been developed for quantitative, non-invasive assessment of inflammatory processes. This CD69 PET tracer has potential to provide insights into inflammatory diseases involving activated immune cells including immuno-oncology, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and diabetes, and to support drug development in this field.
The PET tracer has been discovered and developed by scientists at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Uppsala University. Antaros Tracer, a sister company to Antaros Medical, is validating this proprietary CD69 PET tracer in immunotherapy models and preparing for clinical trials.
To read some more, have a look at this paper presenting the discovery, optimization and biodistribution of an Affibody molecule for imaging of CD69:
Title: Discovery, optimization and biodistribution of an Affibody molecule for imaging of CD69
Authors: Persson J, Puuvuori E, Zhang B, Velikyan I, Åberg O, Müller M, Nygren P-Å, Ståhl S, Korsgren O, Eriksson O, Löfblom J