Alzheimer’s research: no effective drug in sight
Even antibody gantenerumab can’t stop Alzheimer’s disease
Once again, the hopes of millions of sufferers worldwide have now been dashed: a drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease remains nowhere in sight. The anti-body gantenerumab from Roche and its partner Morphosys has now also finally failed in trials – just like all the other antibody agents over the past 20 years.
Contrary to expectations, treatment with gantenerumab did not slow down the disease in affected patients, nor did it significantly reduce the beta-amyloid load, the deposits in the brain typical of Alzheimer’s dementia. The Roche company has now announced that.
Gantenerumab had failed before – yet sponsor Roche held on to the compound
Back in 2014, a first phase III trial of gantenerumab in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s dementia (predementia) had been stopped because of poor results. But Roche, the sponsor of the registration program, had announced in 2017 that it would continue to pursue gantenerumab. In the summer of 2018, it announced the enrollment of the first patient:ing in a new phase III trial, giving Roche and partner Morphosys a fresh start. But the trials failed to meet the primary endpoint: this antibody, too, can neither halt early-stage disease nor combat amyloid plaques.
Gantenerumab, like other antibodies, was supposed to work on the basis of passive immunization, targeting beta-amyloid deposits in the brain. These proteins are thought to be associated with neuronal cell destruction.
Study situation on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation, on the other hand, continues to develop positively
Meanwhile, the study situation on Transcranial Pulse Stimulation continues to develop positively. However, just as in pharmaceutical research, it will take years until all effect models of TPS can be proven in studies and the corresponding data can be published. The next publications on TPS are expected in the coming weeks.
Sources include:
https://www.aerztezeitung.de/Medizin/Gantenerumab-bei-frueher-Alzheimer-Primaere-Endpunkte-nicht-erreicht-434148.html
https://www.apotheke-adhoc.de/nachrichten/detail/pharmazie/roche-gantenerumab-kann-nicht-ueberzeugen/
