Eli Lilly and Company and Avid Radiopharmaceuticals have announced the approval of Amyvid (Florbetapir (18F)) solution for injection in European Union to detect the beta-amyloid neuritic plaque density in patients with cognitive impairment being assessed for Alzheimer's disease and other causes.
The diagnostic radiopharmaceutical, used along with a clinical evaluation, binds to amyloid plaques present in the brains of the suspected Alzheimer's disease patients and is identified using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan images.
Lilly Amyvid global brand development Diane Bakaysa said Amyvid is the first and only diagnostic tool approved for use in the European Union that can show the presence or absence of beta-amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brain.
"Amyvid, along with clinical evaluation, may be an important tool to help physicians who are managing patients with cognitive impairment," Bakaysa added.
"This is important because it is estimated that one in five patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease during life were ultimately misdiagnosed and do not exhibit Alzheimer's disease pathology upon autopsy."
Thus the scanning agent confirms the presence or absence of beta-amyloid plaques, which is a neuropathological feature of AD, in patients with cognitive impairment.
