What is MIND-MAPS?

Neurodegenerative diseases are typically composed of syndromes with similar clinical features encompassing differing etiologies and heterogeneous responses to treatment. The development of novel disease modifying treatment is often hindered by long and expensive Phase II studies and relies on the outcomes to progress the novel treatment into later phases.There is an urgent need for sensitive molecular markers of neurodegenerative disease progression that provide proof of principle that a novel therapeutic affects the underlying pathophysiology. These molecular markers would allow for small, targeted trials of novel therapies providing readouts in smaller cohorts and in shorter time frames, enabling the selection of promising new treatments for pivotal Phase III trials. The MIND MAPS program was developed to address these needs and is a collaboration, bringing together top-tier academia and industry with the aim of developing imaging biomarkers of the neurodegenerative process. 

The MIND MAPS program is structured in a hub-and-spokes design with Invicro’s London location being the central locus for all imaging activities and individual studies performed by associated academic groups in order to standardize protocols.Imaging procedures include PET imaging with [¹⁸F]BCPP-EF, [¹¹C]SA-4503 and [¹¹C]UCB-J, to quantify the density of the MC1, s1R and SV2A respectively. All subjects also undergo a multi-modal MRI examination and clinical and cognitive evaluation.The group of healthy volunteers serve as a comparison group for all the patient cohorts.

Program Components