Gene therapy is a promising approach for treating CNS diseases, but successful clinical trials require navigating a complex planning and decision-making process by trial sponsors.

Neuroimaging techniques, particularly MRI, play a critical role in the development and monitoring of these therapies. to assess the efficacy of gene therapy treatments. In trials with neurosurgery, imaging is additionally required to optimize delivery methods and can be used to explore biodistribution.

In this webinar, Adam Schwarz from Takeda and Kirsi Kinnunen from IXICO will discuss the gene therapy landscape and how neuroimaging can be used to serve many needs of trials delivering gene therapies into the CNS, monitor the safety of gene therapies, and understand the effectiveness of gene therapies.

This webinar covers the following key points:

• The current landscape for clinical trials in gene therapy for CNS diseases
• A snapshot of the current imaging biomarkers in gene therapy drug development
• An overview of the challenges in designing and carrying out a gene therapy trial and the roles that imaging plays in addressing some of the challenges
• Your chance to have your questions answered at the end of the webinar

Neuroimaging plays a critical role in understanding the safety and efficacy of gene therapies in CNS diseases. Join the conversation and register today!

About the speakers

Adam Schwarz – Head of Clinical Imaging, Takeda

Following initial training in physics and engineering, Adam Schwarz has worked in medical imaging for 25 years and as an imaging/biomarker specialist in pharma with increasing levels of responsibility since 2002. This includes 5 years at GSK; 11 years at Eli Lilly and 5 years at Takeda where he currently serves as Head of Clinical Imaging, overseeing clinical imaging activities across all of Takeda’s therapeutic areas.

Kirsi Kinnunen – Senior Biomarker Scientist, IXICO
Kirsi is a Senior Biomarker Scientist (PhD) and Chartered Psychologist with 15+ years of clinical neuroscience research experience. She focuses on brain imaging in CNS clinical trials, with expertise in Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinsonian syndromes, spinocerebellar ataxia, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury. Kirsi provides science input and imaging planning help for biotechs during the development and maintenance stages of gene therapy trials, including those involving neurosurgery.

This webinar took place on Tuesday May 30th 2023

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