Last month, Myriad Genetics said its late-stage trial of its experimental drug Flurizan failed to show any benefit for Alzheimer’s patients. Another late-stage study, of Alzhemed from Canada’s Neurochem, failed last fall.
The results of the Flurizan study will be unpacked this week at a big annual Alzheimer’s conference, as researchers look at what’s next in the field, the Los Angeles Times reports this morning.
Available Alzheimer’s drugs may help a bit with symptoms, but none of them change the course of the disease. The industry is pouring resources into coming up with better drugs, but the basic biology of the disease remains mysterious, and it’s likely to be years before any breakthrough drugs come to market.
Eli Lilly is running a late-stage trial of its drug LY450139, which is supposed to block the production of gamma secretase, an enzyme believed to play an important role in the disease. The study is scheduled to finish in 2012.
And Elan and Wyeth are in the midst of late-stage study of bapineuzumab, an antibody-based drug that’s supposed to clear plaques from the brain. Results from the big test are expected in 2010. But the drug has generated some excitement among investors, even though preliminary results of a mid-stage study didn’t shoot the lights out. More details on those results are scheduled to be released tomorrow.
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