June 26, 2015 - Navidea Biopharmaceuticals announced that results from several pre-clinical Manocept studies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were presented at the EULAR 2015 European Congress of Rheumatology in Rome, Italy from June 10-13, 2015. The results of studies, led by Wael Jarjour, M.D., Thomas J. Rosol, Ph.D., and Larry S. Schlesinger, M.D., of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, highlighted the potential of CD206-targeting Manocept constructs to detect immune-mediated inflammation in RA ,which could be used diagnostically to monitor therapeutic efficacy or as a potential therapeutic platform.
"Diagnosing patients with RA can be challenging because the commonly used laboratory assays are negative in 20 percent of affected patients. Additionally, there are limited reliable tools to assess disease activity and guide therapy in patients with difficult clinical presentations," said Jarjour, associate professor and director, Division of Rheumatology & Immunology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. "We believe that Manocept-targeting of macrophages shows promise in detecting immune-mediated inflammation in RA and could potentially be used diagnostically or to monitor therapeutic efficacy in patients."
The oral presentation entitled, " Manocept, a Derivative of FDA-Approved 99mTc-Tilmanocept, Exhibits Diagnostic Potential by Specifically Identifying Macrophages in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Novel Application of an Existing Drug," ( DOI : 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-eular. 4876) showed results from synovial fluid and tissue acquired from RA patients for comparison to normal frozen archival tissue and synovial tissue procured from patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Tissues were probed with Manocept-Cy3, DAPI nuclear stain, and anti CD206-cyanine. Mononuclear cells were isolated from RA synovial fluid and analyzed by flow cytometry. Results demonstrated that archival synovial tissue and synovial fluid obtained from patients diagnosed with RA contain a significant population of macrophages that express high levels of the CD206 receptor. It was shown that these macrophages strongly co-localize Manocept-Cy3 and CD206 receptors. The degree of macrophage infiltration in tissue from healthy or osteoarthritic patients was significantly lower than in RA tissues.
Additionally in an in vivo animal study, arthritis was induced in mice and was followed with intravenous injection of Manocept-Cy3 and epi-fluorescent imaging. Imaging results indicated that Manocept can be detected in inflamed joints in an in vivo animal model of RA.
For more information: www.navidea.com
September 23, 2026 
