USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 10, 2020 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s statement acknowledged today’s announcement of negative results from a DIAN-TU (Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit) Phase II/III study of solanezumab (Lilly) and gantenerumab (Roche/Genetech). Both drugs failed to meet their primary endpoint - slowing memory loss and cognitive decline. “We are grateful to the patients who took part in the DIAN-TU clinical trials and share their disappointment. Like them, we know that the first person cured of Alzheimer's will be enrolled in a clinical trial… For the tens of millions American families touched by this disease, the fight must continue in order to reach the national goal of achieving an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s by 2025.”

MUST READS

A February 10, 2020 Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis news release reported that the DIAN-TU trial led by Wash U yielded “disappointing results,” but the data continues to be analyzed. “The trial’s innovative design – developed in collaboration with a consortium of pharmaceutical companies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regulatory agencies and academic leaders – will make advances for future Alzheimer’s trials. Ongoing and continued research and trials will bring us closer to our goal to stop Alzheimer’s. We will continue until we are successful,” said principal investigator Randall J. Bateman, MD. Also covered by AP News, Fierce Biotech, and others.

FINANCES

According to a February 10, 2020 Barron’s article, shares of Lilly were down amid the announcement of their solanezumab trial failure. Shares of Biogen were also down. According to the article, “…Regulators may see the solanezumab failure, and the failure of a Roche (RHBBY) Alzheimer’s disease drug also announced on Monday, as a reason not to approve aducanumab, Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug, which failed late-stage trials but still has been submitted for approval.”

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A February 10, 2020 McKnight’s Long-Term Care News article looked to a new study out of Japan which found that people who lived through three or more adverse childhood experiences have an increased risk for developing dementia later in life. Only 2% of participants had suffered three such adverse events. According to the article, “At times, it may be these past experiences and not dementia itself that cause distress and behavioral problems in some elders with dementia, according to the researchers behind an earlier study. In some cases, these events can lead to delayed post-traumatic stress disorder.”

NOTE FROM USA2

Alzheimer's Dailies will take a short break tomorrow, Tuesday, February 11, 2020 and return on Wednesday the 12th.