A 17-year battle against Alzheimer's

Apr 22, 2020 by Esteban Kosak

In March of 2019, Biogen (a pivotal pharmaceutical specializing in the development of therapies for neurological diseases) and Eisai (a Japanese pharmaceutical) announced discontinuation on their phase III clinical trials of Aducanumab in patients with Alzheimer's Dementia as the first interpretation of the data was incomplete and showed no significant neurological amelioration of the symptoms.



Fortunately, in October of 2019 they decided to go after the regulatory approval of the drug as it appears that in phase III trials the patients showed a significant clinical improvement, this represents a breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer's as it is the first disease-modifying therapy to be introduced in 17 years.

Alzheimer's Disease is a chronic neurocognitive disorder that results from the death of neurons in the grey matter, which results in gradual memory loss, disorientation, mood swings, and problems with language. This disorder represents 60 to 70% of dementia cases, leading as the most common cause of dementia. The pathophysiology behind this condition is poorly understood, but genetics and beta-amyloid proteins deposit appears to be critical factors in its development.

Aducanumab is a therapeutic antibody that targets beta-amyloid proteins that have shown in high doses to reduce the disease biomarkers, the brain plaques formed by amyloid proteins accumulation, and gradual mitigation of the neurological symptoms.

Regrettably, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the process for the drug's approval as Biogen is overcoming financial issues related to the pandemic. Still, this is just a delay in a long and promising journey. In recent declarations, the Biogen's Chief of action Michel Vounatsos has reaffirmed the company's interest in the drug's regulatory approval and assured that the company had taken a broad set of actions to keep moving forward.

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