Eli Lilly and Company has announced that an experimental drug treatment for Alzheimer's patients was able to slow down the progression of the disease.
According to Cision PR Newswire, the Phase 3 study of donanemab treatment yielded 35% less decline in cognitive and functional abilities, as compared to participants who received a placebo.
The clinical trial spanned a total of 18 months and measured "activities of daily living, such as managing finances, driving, engaging in hobbies and conversing about current events."
Dr. Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly's chief scientific and medical officer, as well as president of Lilly Research Laboratories, said they are in the first Phase 3 trial of experimental medicinal treatments for Alzheimer's to deliver these results.
"Over the last 20 years, Lilly scientists have blazed new trails in the fight against Alzheimer's disease by elucidating basic mechanisms of AD pathology and discovering imaging and blood biomarker tools to track the pathology,” Skovronsky told Cision PR Newswire. “We are extremely pleased that donanemab yielded positive clinical results with compelling statistical significance for people with Alzheimer's disease in this trial. This is the first phase-three trial of any investigational medicine for Alzheimer's disease to deliver 35% slowing of clinical and functional decline."
Donanemab is a amyloid-targeting drug that targets beta-amyloid, which can accumulate in the brain and form clumps, known as plaques. These plaques are distinct in people with Alzheimer's disease, and scientists believe it facilitates the misfiring of nerve cells in the brain, leading to cognitive decline and memory loss.
In a statement provided to Cision PR Newswire, Dr. Mark Mintun, group vice president at Neuroscience Research & Development at Lilly, said while the results of the trial are encouraging, like many effective treatments for debilitating and fatal diseases, there are risks to donanemab.
In Lilly's study, the brain side effects resulted in the deaths of two participants, and a third participant also died after a serious case. These preliminary results have yet to be vetted by outside experts. However, Lilly plans to release more details at an international Alzheimer's conference in the summer and is seeking FDA approval of the drug.
