Authors: Ripoll, Jorge¹; Ntziachristos, Vasilis²; Cannet, Catherine³; Anna Louise Babin,; Kneuer, Rainer³; Gremlich, Hans-Ulrich³; Beckmann, Nicolau³

Source: Drugs in R&D, Volume 9, Number 5, 2008 , pp. 277-306(30)

Publisher: Adis International

Abstract:

The better and earlier a disease can be diagnosed and characterized, the greater the chance of being able to intervene in this process with a chemical entity. This is the rationale for the use of In Vivo imaging techniques in the drug discovery and development process. In this article we address the value of two imaging modalities in this area, i.e. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical imaging. The multiparametric nature of MRI enables anatomical, functional, metabolic and, to a certain extent, also cellular and target-related information to be obtained noninvasively at high spatial resolution. This favours characterization of a disease state and the corresponding drug intervention. The noninvasiveness of MRI strengthens the link between preclinical and clinical pharmaceutical research. The high sensitivity of optical techniques enables molecular information to be obtained In Vivo. Within pharmacological research, the main applications of optical techniques relate to the early drug discovery process and acquisition of target-related information. However, potential clinical applications of optical imaging are also emerging. The complementary character of both imaging modalities renders them useful in various portions of the drug discovery process, from early target selection and validation to clinical studies.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Biomarkers; Cancer; Cardiovascular disorders; Computed tomography; Contrast media; Diagnostic imaging; Drug evaluation; Magnetic resonance imaging; Near infrared spectroscopy; Rheumatoid arthritis

Document Type: Review article

Affiliations: 1: 1 Institute for Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Greece 2: 2 Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging, Helmholtz Centre Munich and Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany 3: 3 Global Imaging Group, Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Forum 1, Novartis Campus, Basel, Switzerland

Publication date: 2008-01-01

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