Piramal Healthcare has signed an agreement to acquire worldwide rights to the molecular imaging research and development portfolio of Bayer Pharma AG (“Bayer”) through its newly created subsidiary – Piramal Imaging SA. The portfolio includes rights to florbetaben, which is in the final stages of its Phase III clinical trials. First Phase III results will be presented in New Orleans at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting on April 25th, 2012.

Florbetaben is a PET tracer for the detection of beta-Amyloid plaque deposition in the brain, which is the pathological hallmark of disease in probable Alzheimer’s disease patients. Detection of beta-Amyloid depositions is expected to result in earlier diagnosis and more specific treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Phase III trial showed that PET imaging with florbetaben reliably detects beta-amyloid in the brain during life with great accuracy and thus shows value as a potential tool to aid in the diagnosis and assessment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Shares of Piramal Healthcare were trading marginally up 0.59% on the BSE at 12:41 PM IST.

GoodReturns.in