Merck, GE to Collaborate on Alzheimer's Drug
Will work together to identify patients who might benefit from experimental treatment
Merck & Co and General Electric Co's healthcare unit have agreed to collaborate on an experimental drug for Alzheimer's disease, the companies said on Tuesday.
GE Healthcare will supply Flutemetamol, an investigational imaging agent, to Merck for use with its experimental Alzheimer's disease drug MK-8931.
The companies hope GE's imaging agent will help identify patients who might benefit from a therapy such as Merck's, which targets beta amyloid, a protein that can clump together and form plaques in the brain. Such plaques have been found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
