This report examines the background to the whole MI market, providing estimates and evaluation in key areas and examining in-depth the companies, innovative products and academic research that are driving change. Providing…

Comprehensive assessment of the current state of the MI markets

MI in the context of medical imaging

Focus on MI in major clinical areas:
Alzheimer's disease
Cancer
Cardiovascular

A highly-detailed examination of 53 companies actively developing MI products and technology

A review of MI research in 46 leading academic centres worldwide. Molecular imaging is radically impacting the diagnosis of disease and the development of pharmaceuticals.

Molecular Imaging (MI) encompasses a range of rapidly developing diagnostic imaging techniques that combine new-generation imaging agents and advanced imaging tools to capture specific molecular pathways in the body, particularly disease targets.

The clinical benefits of MI are clear. If potentially lethal conditions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease can be detected before they take hold, patient outcomes can improve and healthcare costs will fall as the need for surgery or late-stage treatments declines. When MI reaches its full potential, it will fundamentally change the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

Much has happened recently in the field of MI. Many companies have entered this new market and advanced contrast agents and imaging systems have been launched, with more nearing commercialisation. New alliances, mergers and acquisitions have taken place to bolster companies' prospects in the field, with market leaders beginning to emerge.

The MI sector faces challenges: the agreement of standards and the development of imaging technology and agents capable of being able to provide a meaningful image at the cellular level. Few in the industry see these providing significant hurdles to progress. “Advances in imaging technology, along with increased understanding of molecular and cellular processes, will revolutionise the early diagnosis and treatment of major diseases”
The emergence of molecular imaging strategies is largely due to recent unprecedented advances in molecular and cell biology techniques, the use of transgenic animal models, availability of newer imaging drugs and probes that are highly specific, and successful development of small-animal imaging instrumentation.

These factors, along with continued expansion of scientific horizons in the current post-genomic era, have been pivotal in the drive toward a new standard that allows linking established in vitro and cell culture experimental assays to imaging studies within living subjects.

There is a real possibility of achieving several important goals in biomedical research:
To develop non-invasive in vivo imaging methods that reflect specific cellular and molecular processes, e.g. gene expression, or more complex molecular interactions such as protein-protein interactions;
To monitor multiple molecular events near-simultaneously;
To follow trafficking and targeting of cells;
To optimise drug and gene therapy;
To image drug effects at a molecular and cellular level;
To assess disease progression at a molecular pathological level; and
To create the possibility of achieving all of the above goals of imaging in a rapid, reproducible, and quantitative manner, so as to be able to monitor time-dependent experimental, developmental, environmental, and therapeutic influences on gene products in the same animal or patient.

But…
What will the impact of MI be on identification, tracking and treatment of diseases?
Why are cancer, cardiovascular and neurologically based diseases the focus of research?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various imaging modalities being developed?
This report answers key business questions…

Which companies are emerging as leaders in the field and what are the respective product portfolios?

What are the prospects for MR-PET and how might it affect PET/CT and SPECT/CT development?

In what key areas will MI impact drug development?

Which companies and products are leading the way in applying MI to the diagnosis of cancer and cardiovascular disease?

Who's working with whom on the development of MI technology?

What novel drug development initiative at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute may affect the lung cancer sector?

This report provides real insights…
For executives working in industry and commerce, the need to understand the issues, players and products in this sector of high growth potential is essential. That is why Espicom, for over 25 years a leading publisher of strategic business information for the health industry community, has published this extensive report.

In over 280-pages, The Executive Guide to Molecular Imaging (published July 2007) examines the background to the whole MI market. It provides estimates and evaluation in key areas and examines in-depth the companies, innovative products and academic research that are driving change.