FDA approved Tauvid (flortaucipir F18) for intravenous injection, the first drug used to help image a distinctive characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain called tau pathology. Tauvid is a radioactive diagnostic agent for adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease. Tauvid is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain to estimate the density and distribution of aggregated tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a primary marker of Alzheimer’s disease.
Charles Ganley, M.D., director of Office of Specialty Medicine in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
While there are FDA approved imaging drugs for amyloid pathology, this is the first drug approved for imaging tau pathology, one of the two neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, and represents a major advance for patients with cognitive impairment being evaluated for the condition.
Two proteins – tau and amyloid – are recognized as hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease, pathological forms of tau proteins develop inside neurons in the brain, creating neurofibrillary tangles. After Tauvid is administered intravenously, it binds to sites in the brain associated with this tau protein misfolding. The brain can then be imaged with a PET scan to help identify the presence of tau pathology.
The FDA granted the manufacturer of Tauvid Priority Review, under which the FDA’s goal is to take action on an application within six months where the agency determines that the drug, if approved, would significantly improve the safety or effectiveness of treating, diagnosing or preventing a serious condition. The FDA granted approval of Tauvid to Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.