• Cerecin completes in-licensing of an investigational radiolabelled tracer 18FBHB, CER-022, for development and use in positron emission tomography (PET) studies of ketone body metabolism
• Company expands ketogenic platform following pilot data of CER-0001 in migraine and infantile spasms.
• CER-022 is a novel diagnostic asset with potential applications in neurology and other therapeutic indications

The in-license is part of Cerecin's pipeline expansion and further strengthens its position as a leader in neurometabolism, addressing metabolic targets and bioenergetics in disease. CER-022 could have broad applications in the study of ketone body metabolism and will complement Cerecin's ongoing studies of ketosis in migraine, Alzheimer's disease and infantile spasms epilepsy.

CER-022 is an 18Fluorinated beta-hydroxybutyrate ([18F]FBHB) for investigational use in positron emission tomography (PET) studies of ketone body metabolism. PET is an imaging technique using radiolabelled isotopes to measure metabolic activity in cells. CER-022 was developed by Dr. Frank Wuest, Professor of Oncology at the University of Alberta, and colleagues. This month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Allowance for the U.S. Patent Application No. 16/992,940, title:  Fluorinated beta-hydroxybutyric acids for PET imaging, licensed to Cerecin by the University of Alberta. 

18F radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose (18FDG) is used in numerous applications relating to the brain, heart and in cancer diagnosis. 18FDG PET has been a transformative diagnostic enabling a better understating of tissue metabolism and the early detection and treatment of diseases, particularly cancers and cardiac function. Similarly, it is hoped that CER-022 will be an important diagnostic tool with broad applications, being of significant value to the Company in future studies of its lead investigational drug compound, CER-0001 (tricaprilin).

Commenting on the in-license, Dr Samuel Henderson, Chief Scientific Officer, Cerecin, said, "We are pleased to have in-licensed this technology from the University of Alberta. Radiolabeled glucose has proven to be a valuable tool for the study of many diseases, and with the growing interest in ketone body metabolism, a tool to study ketosis may have similar broad uses. Studies using CER-022 may increase our knowledge of the role of ketosis in a variety of applications."

Dr. Frank Wuest, Professor at the University of Alberta said, "Our partnership with Cerecin will advance the study of our molecular imaging technologies and evaluate if CER-022 will be a useful tool for studying ketone body metabolism using PET. Disorders exhibiting altered energy substrate utilization, such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer may be of interest for PET imaging studies using CER-022."