This agent is said to be the first product developed out of the Merck-VisEn Biomarker Imaging research collaboration announced in 2007, and will enable researchers to image and assess the role of integrin alpha v beta 3 in disease progression and therapeutic response in vivo.
According to the company, IntegriSense is an optimized in vivo fluorescence imaging agent targeting integrin alpha v beta 3, a key biomarker closely associated with disease-related vascularity and angiogenesis. The agent was developed to enable in vivo imaging of integrin alpha v beta 3 expression in order to measure and monitor aspects of disease progression and therapeutic response in disease states including oncology, cardiovascular disease and bone disease.
Kirtland Poss, president and CEO of VisEn Medical, said: “The integrin alpha v beta 3 protein plays an important key role in many disease pathways, which is one of the key reasons we selected this as a first imaging target with our collaborators at Merck. IntegriSense should enable researchers to drive valuable new insights into disease progression and therapeutic mechanisms of action in vivo.”