New imaging tool for inflammation proves suitable for further testing in humans
Published: 25 January 2026
The first whole body in-vivo analysis has shown the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracer LW223 is safe and tolerable in healthy humans.
A promising new scanning agent developed by researchers at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh has proved suitable for further testing in humans, opening the way for further clinical exploration.
The first whole body in-vivo analysis has shown the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracer LW223 is safe and tolerable in healthy humans – enabling scanners to diagnose a range of inflammation-associated diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as myocardial infarction.
LW223 is the first fluorinated PET radiotracer with binding to human translocator protein (TSPO) to be unaffected by the rs6971 polymorphism – a genetic mutation in humans which has thus far hindered TSPO PET inflammation imaging protocols in around 60% of the population – making it a promising clinical tool.
The research team is led by Professor Adriana Tavares at the University of Edinburgh, working with Professor Andrew Sutherland of the University of Glasgow and industry partners Life Molecular Imaging (LMI) and XingImaging, supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialisation service, and by the University of Glasgow’s Research and Innovation Services, which has led on the commercialisation of the agent, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).
In new research published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, healthy volunteers were given an injection of LW223, and their bodies were scanned for four hours.
The results showed that LW223 mainly leaves the body through the liver and intestines and does not significantly break down undesirably inside the body. The amount of radiation associated with this radiotracer is within safety limits, and the minimal radiation dosage compares well to other similar radiotracers in clinical use.
The findings support continued testing of LW223 in clinical trials, as it shows potential for safely tracking inflammation and other biological processes in human diseases.
It also contains fluoride as the radioactive element, which, with a physical half-life of about two hours, can be transported between clinical sites, making it immediately clinically and commercially viable in a way that other radioactive tracer isotope, such as Carbon-11, are not.
Professor Tavares said: “These first-in-human whole-body results mean we can now progress into applying the radiotracer in funded clinical trials in a variety of clinical applications, from myocardial infarction to multiple sclerosis.”
Professor Sutherland said: “This is the first fluorinated PET tracer in 40 years that seems to be able to bind to the TSPO in humans regardless of the rs6971 polymorphism, and this represents a major development in the field of medicinal chemistry.”
Dr Gilles Tamagnan, CEO of XingImaging, said: “Through this partnership, XingImaging is exploring the value of LW223 PET as a marker of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and we are optimistic about more encouraging results to come.”
Two IAA projects supported the clinical development and commercialisation of LW223 for the imaging of inflammation-associated disease in humans.
In 2018, the first round of IAA funds was used to support the employment of an experienced organic chemist at the University of Glasgow for six months, improving the large-scale production of LW223.
A second IAA award in 2022 employed an organic chemist for four months, who used the previously optimised synthetic route to generate additional quantities of LW223’s precursor and standard.
The paper First human whole-body biodistribution and dosimetry analysis of [18F]LW223, a novel TSPO PET radiotracer, is published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
Title image: Professor Andrew Sutherland and Professor Adriana Tavares. CREDIT Edinburgh Innovations
First published: 25 January 2026