Collaborators LoginOur Vision is to be the premier provider of
information and technology to researchers and
clinicians in order to improve brain health
OUR MISSION
To provide broad access to biomarkers of neurological pathologies, essential enabling tools and information technology to accelerate the development and approval of effective therapies to treat specific to neurodegenerative diseases.
OUR FOCUS
Enabling Acceleration of
Disease Modifier Research
We devote our resources to enabling therapeutic disease research by rallying from pharma and key academic opinion leaders worldwide.
KEY COMPETENCIES:
- Partnership network development and maintenance: Pharma, Academia, and Regional Distributors
- Seamless Technology Transfer to establish an extensive worldwide production network of impeccable quality to support Users Group clinical trials
- Robust Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Data Management
ENIGMA BIOMEDICAL GROUP (EBG)
MK-6240 Image Data Management
Revealing Insights
Evaluating Tau, using MK-6240, and other neurodegenerative pathologies to enhance decision making for AD drug development and ultimately clinical practice
PARTNERS
PHARMA PARTNERS
BUSINESS PARTNERS
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
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NEWS
Belov, V., Guehl, N. J., Duvvuri, S., Iredale, P., Moon, S.-H., Dhaynaut, M., Chakilam, S., MacDonagh, A. C., Rice, P. A., Yokell, D. L., Renger, J. J., El Fakhri, G., & Normandin, M. D. (2024). PET imaging of M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in rhesus macaques using [11C]MK-6884: Quantification with kinetic modeling and receptor occupancy by CVL-231 (emraclidine), a novel positive allosteric modulator. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 44(8), 1329–1342.
Bodick, N. C., Offen, W. W., Levey, A. I., Cutler, N. R., Gauthier, S. G., Satlin, A., Shannon, H. E., Tollefson, G. D., Rasmussen, K., Bymaster, F. P., Hurley, D. J., Potter, W. Z., & Paul, S. M. (1997). Effects of Xanomeline, a Selective Muscarinic Receptor Agonist, on Cognitive Function and Behavioral Symptoms in Alzheimer Disease. Archives of Neurology, 54(4), 465–473.
Duvvuri, S., Iredale, P., Belov, V., Guehl, N., Moon, S.-H., & Dhaynaut, M. (2021). Evaluation of M4 Muscarinic Receptor Occupancy by CVL-231 Using [11C]MK-6884 PET in Non-Human Primates.
Duvvuri, S., Iredale, P., Pin, S., Smith, D., Zhang, J., Giugliano, A., & Koole, M. (2024, April). Evaluation of M4 Muscarinic Receptor Occupancy by Emraclidine Using [11C]MK-6884 PET in Healthy Volunteers. 2024 Annual Congress of the Schizphrenia Society.
Gollapelli, K. K., Krizan, I., Bhoopal, B., Damuka, N., Moriarty, C., Miller, M., Sai, K. K. S., & Gould, R. W. (2025). [11C]MK-6884 PET imaging reveals lower M4 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor availability following cocaine self-administration in male rats. Pharmacological Reports, 77(2), 532–541.
Li, W., Wang, Y., Lohith, T. G., Zeng, Z., Tong, L., Mazzola, R., Riffel, K., Miller, P., Purcell, M., Holahan, M., Haley, H., Gantert, L., Hesk, D., Ren, S., Morrow, J., Uslaner, J., Struyk, A., Wai, J. M.-C., Rudd, M. T., … Basile, A. S. (2022). The PET tracer [11C]MK-6884 quantifies M4 muscarinic receptor in rhesus monkeys and patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Science Translational Medicine, 14(627).
Marin, T., Belov, V., Chemli, Y., Ouyang, J., Najmaoui, Y., Fakhri, G. E., Duvvuri, S., Iredale, P., Guehl, N. J., Normandin, M. D., & Petibon, Y. (2025). PET Mapping of Receptor Occupancy Using Joint Direct Parametric Reconstruction. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 72(3), 1057–1066.
Masdeu, J., Pascual, B., Zanotti-Fregonara, P., Yu, M., Funk, Q., Arbones, V., Rockers, E., Wang, Y., Li, W., Cheng, A., Anderson, M., Hostetler, E., & Basile, A. (2020). [11C]MK-6884 PET Tracer for M4 Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors in Alzheimer’s Disease: Comparison with [18F]FDG PET (2640). Neurology, 94(15_supplement), 2640.
Pascual, B., Zanotti-Fregonara, P., Yu, M., Funk, Q., Arbones, V., Wang, Y., Li, W., Cheng, A., Anderson, M., Hostetler, E., Basile, A., & Masdeu, J. (2021). [11C]MK-6884 PET Tracer for M4 Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors in Alzheimer’s Disease: Comparison with [18F]FDG PET (4241). Neurology, 96(15_supplement), 4241.
Shekhar, A., Potter, W. Z., Lightfoot, J., Lienemann, J., Dubé, S., Mallinckrodt, C., Bymaster, F. P., McKinzie, D. L., & Felder, C. C. (2008). Selective Muscarinic Receptor Agonist Xanomeline as a Novel Treatment Approach for Schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(8), 1033–1039.
Tong, L., Li, W., Lo, M. M.-C., Gao, X., Wai, J. M.-C., Rudd, M., Tellers, D., Joshi, A., Zeng, Z., Miller, P., Salinas, C., Riffel, K., Haley, H., Purcell, M., Holahan, M., Gantert, L., Schubert, J. W., Jones, K., Mulhearn, J., … Mazzola, R. (2020). Discovery of [11 C]MK-6884: A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging Agent for the Study of M4Muscarinic Receptor Positive Allosteric Modulators (PAMs) in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 63(5), 2411–2425.
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Lohith TG, Bennacef I, Vandenberghe R, et al. Brain imaging of Alzheimer dementia patients and elderly controls with 18F-MK-6240, a PET tracer targeting neurofibrillary tangle pathology. J Nucl Med. 2019; 60(1):107-114. Doi: 10.2967/jnumed.118.208215.
Betthauser TJ, Cody KA, Zammit MD, et al. In vivo characterization and quantification of neurofibrillary tau PET radioligand MK-6240 in humans from Alzheimer’s disease dementia to young controls. J Nucl Med. 2019; 60(1):93-99. Doi: 10.2967/jnumed.118.209650.
Guehl NJ, Wooten DW, Yokell DL, et al. Evaluation of pharmacokinetic modeling strategies for in-vivo quantification of tau with the radiotracer [18F]MK6240 in human subjects. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2019; 46(10):2099-2111. Doi: 10.1007/s00259-019-04419-z.
Hopewell R, Ross K, Kostikov A, et al. A simplified radiosynthesis of [18F]MK-6240 for tau PET imaging. J Labelled Comp Radiopharm. 2019; 62(2):109-114. Doi: 10.1002/jlcr.3695.
Salinas C, Lohith TG, Purohit A, et al. Test-retest characteristic of [18F]MK-6240 quantitative outcomes in cognitively normal adults and subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2019; [Epub ahead of print]. Doi: 10.1177/0271678X19887781.
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Collier TL, Yokell DL, Livni E, et al. cGMP production of the radiopharmaceutical [18F]MK-6240 for PET imaging of human neurofibrillary tangles. J Labelled Comp Radiopharm. 2017; 60(5):263-269. Doi: 10.1002/jlcr.3496.
Hostetler ED, Walji AM, Zeng Z, et al. Preclinical characterization of 18F-MK-6240, a promising PET tracer for in vivo quantification of human neurofibrillary tangles. J Nucl Med. 2016; 57(10):1599-1606.
Walji AM, Hostetler ED, Selnick H, et al. Discovery of 6-(fluoro-(18)F)-3-(1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridin-1-yl)isoquinolin-5-amine ([(18)F]-MK-6240): A positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent for quantification of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). J Med Chem. 2016; 59(10):4778-89. Doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00166.