Cardinal Health to Manufacture, Distribute Eli Lilly and Company's Brain Imaging Agent Amyvid

Cardinal Health announced that it will manufacture and distribute Amyvid, Eli Lilly and Company's new diagnostic imaging agent that aids in the evaluation of adult patients with cognitive impairment who may have Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline. Amyvid works by binding to amyloid plaques, one of the necessary pathological features of Alzheimer's Disease, and is detected using PET scan images of the brain. An Amyvid scan indicates the amount of the amyloid plaques present. It is important to note that Amyvid is an adjunct to other diagnostic evaluations, and a positive Amyvid scan does not establish a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or other cognitive disorder. The safety and effectiveness of Amyvid have not been established for predicting development of dementia or other neurologic condition, or when used to monitor responses to therapies. Amyvid loses over half of its radioactivity every two hours, so the sites that manufacture it need to be located in close proximity to hospitals and health centers that will use it. Through its broad nationwide network of manufacturing facilities and radiopharmacies, Cardinal Health's Nuclear Pharmacy Services says it can reach more than 90 percent of all U.S. hospitals within three hours' time. Cardinal Health will manufacture and distribute Amyvid at seven sites throughout the U.S. beginning in June 2012, with a potential expansion to 12 locations by the end of the calendar year.Click here for press release.