Three dementia drugs “hold promise”
Alzheimer’s Society has published a blog about the 143 drugs now in clinical trials across the globe as possible treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The blog highlights what it regards as the three “promising” drugs, lecanemab, gantenerumab and donanemab. In September, pharma companies Eisai and Biogen announced trial results showing that lecanemab had slowed down decline in memory and thinking by 27%, described by Alzheimer’s Society as “potentially game-changing.” The drug has already been submitted to US and European regulators to be approved for prescription. Initial results for donanemab showed that the decline in memory and thinking skills was slowed by 32%, although this has still to be confirmed in later stage trials. But initial clinical trials for gantenerumab – an immunotherapy drug – showed less promise. While there was no benefit to memory and thinking skills in initial trials, when trials were extended it was found that a high dose reduced the amount of Alzheimer’s trademark amyloid protein in the brain.
Read the blog here: www.alzheimers.org.uk