Positron emission tomography imaging as a key enabling technology in drug development

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Biomarker Discovery
• Radiochemistry

Background:

• Positron emission tomography (PET) utilization is growing in pharmaceutical research.
• A key challenge is defining appropriate use cases for PET within drug development projects.
• Current applications are concentrated in Central Nervous System (CNS) and oncology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application of PET in drug development.
• To contextualize PET usage concerning target, mechanism, and efficacy biomarkers.
• To explore the potential for broader future applications of PET.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of PET applications in drug development.
• Analysis of PET usage across different therapeutic areas.
• Examination of biomarker types (target, mechanism, efficacy) associated with PET studies.

Main Results:

• PET is increasingly adopted in drug development, particularly for target and mechanism biomarkers.
• PET application is currently limited primarily to CNS and oncology indications.
• Broader utilization of PET is anticipated with increased availability and new radiotracers.

Conclusions:

• PET is a valuable tool in drug development, especially for biomarker identification.
• Expanding the use of PET beyond CNS and oncology requires clearer guidelines and broader accessibility.
• PET is expected to play a more significant role as an efficacy biomarker in the future.