In Europe, 1.6 % of the population aged ≥ 65 and up to 3 % after the age of 80 suffers from PD [1]. As the average age of the population in the EU continues to rise, the overall number of people with PD is increasing [2] and will place a significant burden on society due the associated healthcare costs. Currently, the combined direct and indirect cost of PD, including treatment, social security payments and lost income from inability to work, is estimated to be nearly $25 billion per year in the United States alone.
This consortium aims to develop PET tracers targeting α-syn, the hallmark for PD. These tracers will make it possible to image disease-modifying approaches, diagnose and study PD and related diseases and in a completely new fashion. We will establish pre-targeted imaging for mAbs that are capable to reach targets beyond the BBB. This is currently not state-of-the-art, but desperately needed.
Success will lead to earlier and accurate PD diagnosis. Tracers will also be applied to validate novel therapeutic approaches early in the drug development phase and reduce drug development costs. Ultimately, success of our research ideas leads to economic growth in the EU and make our healthcare system sustainable.
We have succeeded with identifying several lead structures that can potentially be used to image α-syn. Patent applications have been filed. In vivo in-depth evaluation is currently on-going. Furthermore, we have developed the first pretargeted imaging approach to target nanomedicines beyond the blood-brain barrier.
[1]J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1997, 62, 10 and Neurol. Clin. 1996, 14, 317
[2] Neurology 2007, 68, 384
