Sigma-Aldrich Licenses from NeuroSurvival Technologies a Marker for Molecular Imaging of Apoptosis in Vivo

Sigma-Aldrich™ and NeuroSurvival Technologies Ltd. (NST) announced that they have signed a licensing agreement for a leading marker, developed by NST, for molecular imaging of apoptosis in vitro and in vivo in animals.

The marker, developed by NST, will be manufactured and marketed by Sigma-Aldrich under the commercial name Apo-TRACE™. Apo-TRACE™ is a member of a family of proprietary small molecules developed by NST that target apoptosis. Another molecule of the family, ApoSense™-PET, is in clinical trials for imaging apoptosis in vivo in humans with PET (positron emitting tomography) and is not part of this agreement.

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) is a fundamental biological process of cell "suicide", inherent in every cell in body, and its discovery is regarded as one of the major recent revolutions in biology and medicine. Apoptosis has an important role in almost any medical disorder, and its control may hold the promise for substantial advances in medical care for a wide array of medical disorders, ranging from cancer, myocardial infarction and cerebral stroke, to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.