Petnet Pharmaceuticals Inc has signed a licensing agreement with UCLA for development rights to molecular imaging probes for the COX-2 enzyme. UCLA has a significant ongoing COX-2 research effort.

COX-2 is an enzyme that can cause severe inflammation, and its effects are generally treated by use of a relatively new class of drugs called COX-2 inhibitors that fight arthritis pain and other inflammation disorders.

"This agreement represents another important research partnership with UCLA," said Mark Rhoads, president and CEO of Petnet. "With this initiative we hope to gain a better understanding of the COX-2 enzyme, opening the door to the creation of new molecular probes which can better image the inflammation process and lead to new medical diagnostics and drugs."

"The COX-2 enzyme is ubiquitous and has a very important functional role in healthy tissues," said Dr. Jorge R. Barrio, professor of molecular medicine and medical pharmacology at the UCLA School of Medicine and one of the leading investigators on this project. "It is also found in various cancers and in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease."

PET is an important molecular imaging tool for physicians in diagnosing, treating, and monitoring a number of diseases including cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurological disorders.

In 2001, Petnet and UCLA established the LA Tech Center, whose mission is to link diagnostics with molecular therapeutics from research to patient care.

Earlier this year, UCLA researchers announced the first technique to image the earliest evidence of Alzheimer's disease in patients by combining PET with a new chemical marker called FDDNP.