Bayer in another Japanese molecular imaging deal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Bayer Schering Pharma(BSP) has licensed exclusive global development and marketing rights to a group of cancer imaging molecules developed by the Japanese firm Hamamatsu Photonics. The radionucleotide-labelled tracers are taken up by carrier molecules highly expressed on malignant tumour cells and are used in combination with positron emission tomography (PET). The hope is that they will aid earlier and more specific identification of malignant cells, BSP said. It is the second Japanese imaging alliance in recent months for the German group. Last year, BSP acquired from Nagasaki University similar rights to molecules used in the PET imaging and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (Scrip Online, September 12th, 2009).