Life Molecular Imaging Secures Funding from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) to Further Investigate [18F]F-DED PET in Alzheimer's Neuroinflammation
Joining forces to accelerate development and to create a potential new option for Neuroinflammation Imaging
BERLIN and BOSTON, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Molecular Imaging has received an investment from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) to advance significant research in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The $2.16 million investment, spanning three years, will fuel the development of [18F]F‑DED, an investigational F18-labeled PET imaging agent designed to target monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B), a key enzyme linked to neuroinflammation.
This ambitious research initiative is a collaborative effort with two world-class institutions, including the University Hospital of Ludwig-Maximilian University (LMU; Munich, Germany) and the Barcelona Beta Brain Research Center (BBRC, Spain), with experts in neurology, nuclear medicine, psychiatry, and stroke and dementia research.
It is anticipated that using [18F]F-DED PET imaging during this project has the potential to provide critical insights into both sporadic and genetically predisposed AD patients, bridging the gap on the contribution of neuroinflammation between early and late stages of the disease.
Until now, PET imaging of neuroinflammation has faced challenges due to genetic polymorphisms affecting ligand binding, leading to inconsistent results.
"This new research, supported by the prestigious ADDF funding, provides a unique opportunity to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of neuroinflammation and its association with established biomarkers," said Andrew Stephens, Chief Medical Officer at LMI.
"Neuroinflammation could be a potential key driver in the spread of tau pathology to the cortex in Alzheimer's disease. Leveraging PET imaging to explore its role presents a unique opportunity to deepen our understanding of disease progression," added Matthias Brendel, Professor for Nuclear Medicine at LMU.
Gemma Salvadó Blasco, Group Leader of Neuroimaging Research BBRC, echoed this enthusiasm: "By combining data from diverse Alzheimer's disease cohorts, we aim to unravel the complexities of disease progression. We're thrilled to embark on this exciting journey."
"PET-Imaging tools provide important insights into understanding Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders and are integrated now into clinical care," says Howard Fillit, MD, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of the ADDF. "New imaging tools exploring neuroinflammation may offer a non-invasive approach to visualize astrocyte activity alongside established biomarkers to further examine the relationship between inflammation and Alzheimer's. If successful, this innovative approach will help deepen our understanding of the underlying disease."
About
Neuroinflammation represents a key pathologic mechanism in many neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, movement disorders and multiple sclerosis. In the brain it can be mediated by reactive astrocytes (astrogliosis), which show increased activity of the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B). The PET tracer [18F]F-DED is a deuterated deprenyl derivative that was designed to preferentially bind to areas with increased MAO-B activity (1,2).
About Life Molecular Imaging (LMI)
Life Molecular Imaging (LMI) is an international radiopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and offering novel cutting-edge PET radiopharmaceuticals for imaging of neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. The organization strives to be a leader in the molecular imaging field. Our mission is to pioneer innovative PET products that improve early detection and characterization of chronic and life-threatening diseases, leading to better therapeutic outcomes and improved quality of life. By advancing novel PET radiopharmaceuticals for molecular imaging, LMI is focusing on a key field of modern medicine. LMI is an affiliate of Life Healthcare Group – an international people-centered, diversified healthcare organization with four decades of experience in the South African private healthcare sector. To learn more, please visit https://life-mi.com.
About Life Healthcare Group
Life Healthcare is a global people-centered, diversified healthcare organization listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Life Healthcare has over 40 years' experience in the South African private healthcare sector, and currently operates 64 healthcare facilities in southern Africa. Services include acute hospital care, acute physical rehabilitation, acute mental healthcare, renal dialysis, oncology, diagnostic and molecular imaging and health risk management services which include occupational health and wellness services. The Group also owns Life Molecular Imaging, a radiopharmaceutical business dedicated to developing and globally commercializing innovative molecular imaging agents for use in PET-CT diagnostics to detect specific diseases. Visit: https://www.lifehealthcare.co.za/.
About The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease. The ADDF is the only public charity solely focused on funding the development of drugs for Alzheimer's, employing a venture philanthropy model to support research in academia and the biotech industry. The ADDF's leadership and contributions to the field have played a pivotal role in bringing the first Alzheimer's PET scan (Amyvid®) and blood test (PrecivityAD®) to market, as well as fueling the current robust and diverse drug pipeline. Through the generosity of its donors, the ADDF has awarded more than $370 million to fund 765 Alzheimer's drug discovery programs, biomarker programs and clinical trials in 21 countries. To learn more, please visit: http://www.alzdiscovery.org/.
References
1. Nag S, Fazio P, Lehmann L, et al. In Vivo and In Vitro Characterization of a Novel MAO-B Inhibitor Radioligand, 18F-Labeled Deuterated Fluorodeprenyl. J Nucl Med. 2016;57(2):315-320. doi:10.2967/jnumed.115.161083
2. Ballweg A, Klaus C, Vogler L, et al. [18F]F-DED PET imaging of reactive astrogliosis in neurodegenerative diseases: preclinical proof of concept and first-in-human data. J Neuroinflammation. 2023;20(1):68. Published 2023 Mar 11. doi:10.1186/s12974-023-02749-2
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