Ceretec sales climbed 17% in 1993

Amersham International reported that sales of its brain and white blood cell SPECT imaging agent Ceretec increased 17% in fiscal 1993 (end-March). In its annual report, the British radiopharmaceutical vendor said Ceretec had sales of £26.4 million last year, or about $40 million at current exchange rates.

Interest in brain imaging is growing, according to Amersham, and promising new applications for the agent include early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disase.

Technetium-labeled Ceretec has been the only brain SPECT agent available in the U.S. for several years. Sales of a competing agent, Spectamine, halted two years ago after the demise of IMP, a start-up firm set up to market the iodine-123-based agent (SCAN 6/17/92).

Ceretec will soon face increased competition from Neurolite, however, a new brain imaging agent from Du Pont Merck. Neurolite is being marketed in Europe and Japan and is nearing Food and Drug Administration approval in the U.S. Amersham acknowledged that future sales of Ceretec may be affected by increased competition, but also stated that new brain SPECT agents could help enlarge the market for neuro imaging.

Sales of Metastron, Amersham's radiopharmaceutical for the palliation of bone pain caused by cancer, totaled £14.4 million, or $22 million. The agent was launched in the U.S. in July of last year.