Promising Alzheimer’s drug shows no effect on the disease

Global healthcare company Lilly has announced the results of a phase 3 clinical trial, designed to test the efficacy of a drug to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s.

The results indicate that the drug solanezumab did not meet the primary endpoint in the multinational phase 3 trial which consisted of over 2,100 patients diagnosed with mild dementia.

According to The Guardian, solanezumab is an injectable antibody which sticks to amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The drug aimed to stem the progression of dementia by destroying the sticky plaques in the early stages of dementia and also protect patients against more severe cognitive decline later on.

Patients treated with solanezumab did not experience a significant decrease in cognitive decline compared to patients treated with a placebo.

Because of the results the company will not pursue regulatory submissions for solanezumab for the treatment of mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

John C. Lechleiter, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Lilly said: "The results of the solanezumab expedition3 trial were not what we had hoped for and we are disappointed for the millions of people waiting for a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer's disease. We will evaluate the impact of these results on the development plans for solanezumab and our other Alzheimer's pipeline assets."

"Lilly is grateful for the dedication of the patients, their families, and the clinical investigators who participated in this study," said Jan Lundberg, executive vice president of science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. "Lilly remains committed to Alzheimer's research as we have been for nearly 30 years, and our portfolio includes many other promising approaches."

Earlier this year dementia was revealed to be the leading cause of death in the UK making the results of this trial even more disappointing.