On April 13, 2021 Molecular Targeting Technologies, Inc. (MTTI) reported the issuance of United States Patent # 10,953,113. The patent claims a quick (5 min), easy and quantitative conversion of commercially available 18F-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) to 18F-Fluroglucaric acid (18F-FGA) (Press release, Molecular Targeting Technologies, APR 13, 2021, View Source [SID1234577990]).

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Professor Fabian Kiessling, MD, Director of the Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany commented, "In addition to monitoring tumor response to therapy, a tracer that sees necrosis should track organ fibrosis in chronic kidney disease and liver fibrosis. These diseases are common, but their progression and responses to therapy are still hard to track reliably. 18F-FGA could be extremely valuable to fill this unmet medical need."

Professor Vibhudutta Awasthi, PhD, Associate Dean of Research, inventor and co-inventor Dr. Hailey Houson at the University of Oklahoma said, "An 18F-FGA imaging agent for necrosis can revolutionize a diagnostic workup of many human diseases where tissue necrosis occurs as part of the pathology. This tracer enables use of high resolution, high sensitivity PET, to detect myocardial infarction and brain stroke. We are delighted to hear about MTTI’s effort to commercialize this technology."

"The search for agents that could image necroses, without accumulating in living tissue, has been going on for decades. This innovative 18F PET tracer is specific for dead cells. It is also ideal for monitoring rapid tumor response to radiation and drug treatment. We’re excited for this discovery and look forward to advancing this molecule to clinic," said Chris Pak, President & CEO of MTTI.