Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) has purchased the remaining 49.9% of Canadian molecular imaging technology developer Atreus Pharmaceuticals.
Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Atreus develops Annexin V-based molecular imaging products aimed at imaging apoptosis and necrosis. With the acquisition, Atreus has now become a fully owned subsidiary of AAA and has been renamed AAA Canada. Atreus founder Bill Dickie will serve as president and CEO of AAA Canada.
In other news, AAA said the first patient has been enrolled in a phase I/IIa clinical trial that will evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics, and dosing of the company's technetium-99m rhAnnexin V-128 SPECT radiopharmaceutical agent in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis. The study will also examine the agent's ability to identify the disease and monitor the effectiveness of current drug treatment, according to the vendor.
Dr. John Prior, PhD, of the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland is serving as the principal investigator.
