PRESS RELEASE:
UCSD Medical Center and Molecular Imaging Open Molecular Imaging Facility
Friday, August 22, 2003 - 11:24 AM PST
Molecular Imaging Corporation Also Acquires San Diego's Only Cyclotron Facility for the Manufacture of Diagnostic
Imaging Pharmaceuticals
Molecular Imaging Corporation ("MLRI" or the "Company") (OTC BB: MLRI) announced today that a subsidiary of the Company
has entered into definitive agreements with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to open and operate a state-
of-the-art facility that will offer Positron Emission Tomography (PET) patient imaging services. The facility, located
at 11388 Sorrento Valley Road in San Diego, California, will be known as the "University of California, San Diego
Center For Molecular Imaging." Under the terms of the agreements, UCSD School of Medicine radiology faculty will
provide all clinical patient support services and the Company will manage the business operations of the center. The
facility will serve the UCSD Healthcare patient population and the greater San Diego metropolitan area. UCSD and the
Company plan to upgrade the current PET scanner to a PET/CT in the near future, and add a MicroPET imaging system for
clinical research to serve the needs of San Diego's research and biotechnology companies.
"The molecular imaging and pharmaceutical sector has introduced an entirely new modality and approach for practicing
medicine for the diagnoses and treatment of disease," said William G. Bradley, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chairman,
Department of Radiology, UCSD School of Medicine. "In the case of cancer, the PET scanner operates by measuring, with
high accuracy and specificity, regions or organs with heightened metabolic activity, characteristic of the presence of
a malignant tumor. Simultaneously it detects the tumor's specific size, dimensions and location in the body. For
cardiology studies, the PET scanner provides the highest degree of accuracy in imaging perfusion and cardiac viability.
The PET scanner is also useful in observing hypo-metabolic activity in the brain that is indicative of functional
disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The addition of MicroPET would fill a significant need of
clinical researchers in the area, as they would be able to use molecular imaging as a tool for designing and monitoring
clinical trials, accelerating the development process and predicting which patients may or may not respond to a
particular developmental treatment."
"The establishment of this facility and formal relationship with UCSD represent significant milestones for our
company," said Paul Crowe, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "This new molecular imaging facility
with UCSD is focused on serving the clinical needs of the UCSD patient population and an academic setting for future
research programs."
In a related transaction, the Company announced today that a subsidiary of the Company has acquired a cyclotron
facility that is also located at 11388 Sorrento Valley Road in San Diego. The Company will manage the business
operations of the cyclotron facility. The cyclotron will provide the company with the capability to produce the
radioisotope fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), the most commonly used radiopharmaceutical in molecular imaging. The Company and
UCSD plan to collaborate in future research programs for the development of other radioisotopes that may be useful in
the fields of neuroscience and cardiology.
"The addition of the cyclotron will offer significant commercial benefits for our existing physician and hospital
customer base in Southern California," said Paul Crowe. "We believe that through this vertical integration of our PET
imaging and radiopharmaceutical production services we will have a distinct competitive advantage in Southern
California."
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a medical imaging procedure that displays metabolic and functional
characteristics of disease. Other conventional imaging procedures such as X-Ray, Computed Tomography (CT), Diagnostic
Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems provide physicians with anatomical information. Because
diseases like cancer and cardiac and neurological disorders often exhibit altered metabolism before the anatomy is
changed, PET helps physicians effectively detect and stage these problems at their earliest stages. That information
helps define and guide appropriate treatment options, which can eliminate redundant testing, hospitalization, or non-
beneficial therapies.
A cyclotron is used to produce radionuclides such as Fluorine-18, Nitrogen-13 and Oxygen-15, which are used in Positron
Emission Tomography. FDG is a glucose-based radiopharmaceutical labeled with Fluorine-18 that is injected before a PET
scan. FDG metabolism is detected by the PET scan in the form of an image. Abnormal concentrations of glucose can
indicate areas of malignancies.
SOURCE: The T Sector, CA
http://www.thetsector.com/displayarticle5544.html
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