Short name: CMC 001, central moiety: Mn2+
CMC 001 is an orally administered MRI contrast agent in development for enhancement of the liver, bile ducts and gastrointestinal tract. Applications are screening of liver tumors/metastases, imaging of the biliary tract and it could be suitable for liver function studies by following the metabolism and excretion of manganese in the liver cells. Several advantages like better images, higher safety, lower costs and less inconvenience for the patient can be expected.
Animal experiments and clinical studies in humans Phase I and Phase II A, have shown excellent contrast enhancing properties with only minimal adverse effects. CMC 001 is under development by the Medicon Valley based CMC Contrast AB to receive a cost effective, safe and highly diagnostic MR contrast medium for abdominal MR imaging. Clinical studies in Phase III are started.

'CMC Contrast AB (Copenhagen Malmø Contrast AB) was established in April 2000. CMC Contrast AB was founded by professor Henrik Thomsen and the two main owners Malmøhus Invest AB and Öresund - Healthcare Capital KS.'
'The purpose of CMC Contrast AB is to develop the product CMC 001 to a registered medicinal product with market authorisation in the international pharmaceutical markets. CMC Contrast AB holds all the rights to CMC 001, and the company aims to develop CMC 001 to a registered medicinal product on a worldwide basis.'

(MRCP) This MR imaging technique takes advantage of the high signal intensity of body fluids and acquires heavy T2 weighted images of the gall bladder, the pancreas and parts of the liver. Due to the T2 weighting, the liver and other solid parenchyma are signal suppressed and only fluid-filled structures in addition to the gall bladder, the bile and pancreatic ducts retain important signal intensity. Hepatobiliary contrast agents (e.g. Gadoxetic Acid, CMC 001) can be useful for enhancement of the bile ducts and better imaging of the biliary tract.
A 2D cholangiogram, often only one thick slice (a volume with a thickness of 4 - 8 cm, mostly coronal planned) or 5 - 6 radial placed slices, shows a view like single slices. If a 3D acquisition is used, the postprocessing function maximum intensity projection (MIP) can show reconstructions from multiple sides.