Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc was acquired by Eli Lilly in November 2010 and continues to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY).. A product-focused molecular imaging company, Avid had developed a radioactive tracer called Florbetapir (18F) having the capibility to detect beta amyloid plaques in patients with memory problems using positron emission tomography (PET) scans. This achievement made the company the first to market an FDA-approved method that can detect one of the signatures of Alzheimer's disease. Since the Alzheimerâs disease was discovered, the only certain way to determine if a person had the disease was a postmortum autopsy on the patient's brain to find distinctive spots on the brain that show the buildup of amyloid plaque; as many as 20% of patients diagnosed with the disease are found, after examination of the brain, to not have had the condition. Two of Avid's radiopharmaceuticals have already been involved in clinical trials, and Avid intends to make these products available to pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop new drugs for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Avid's products can facilitate testing of therapies aimed at amyloid plaques by providing a readily measured biomarker for this disease. Avid's first commercial product for the Alzheimer's diagnostic market is ready for development and will be used for positron emission tomography (PET). !n 2013, it was announced that Eli Lilly & Co. has acquired from Siemens Medical Solutions USA Inc. intellectual property and know-how surrounding a positron emission tomography (PET)-based tau tangle imaging program for Alzheimerâs diseas
