MUST READS

According to a January 14, 2020 Fierce Pharma article, Biogen is currently preparing for its potential launch of aducanumab for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, assuming it gets FDA approval. The application is not yet filed, but Biogen has already readied its “go-to-market model” for the U.S. According to the article, “Asked about the regulatory process so far for aducanumab, Biogen R&D head Al Sandrock said Monday the situation is unlike any that he’s been a part of in his career. Going from “futility to a filing is unique in and of itself,” he said, and he noted that the high level of “constructive engagement” between the drugmaker and the FDA is “unusual” in his experience.”

SEX MATTERS

A January 15, 2020 The Orange County Register article spotlighted a new $100,000 award for continuing research at UCI MIND (UC Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders) from Alzheimer’s advocate Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. This second award continues the work on sex and gender disparities in AD, and comes in the wake of a $1.9 million NIH grant resulting from the first pilot study funded by the partnership. “I will always come down here because I believe in your leadership. I believe in the doctors that are here, the researchers that are here… I believe that investing in sex differences research is a part of how we get forward. Women are two-thirds of the caregivers and two-thirds of those impacted by the disease,” said Shriver.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A January 15, 2020 Technology Networks article spotlighted work from Gladstone and Genentech researchers which found that a small molecule, GNE-0723, increases the activity of NMDA neurotransmitter receptors found at synapses, helping to restore the brain’s rhythms to normal patterns and improving memory. The drug reduced low-frequency oscillations, a type of brain activity which is more prominent in Alzheimer’s disease brains and may contribute to impaired cognition and memory loss. “What we saw after the treatment were brain-wide changes in neural activity that shift the brain to a more active state that facilitates learning and memory,” said senior study author Jorge Palop, PhD of UC San Francisco.

ALZ TECH

A January 13, 2020 Yahoo! Finance article announced a strategic partnership between Veravas and Tymora to integrate their technologies with the aim of enriching and measuring circulating biomarkers for non-invasive, early-stage Alzheimer’s disease diagnostics. The focus will be on developing the first AD test from human plasma samples, as opposed to current, complex cerebral spinal fluid neuromarker testing. According to Veravas lead Carroll E. Streetman Jr., “This type of testing will encourage routine screening, early detection and companion diagnostic testing. This partnership will allow us to pursue the combination of our sample prep and biomarker technologies so we can quickly address some of the biggest challenges impacting the neuroscience IVD market, starting with Alzheimer’s Disease.”

CLINICAL TRIAL SPOTLIGHT

A January 13, 2020 Forbes article encouraged people to sign-up for the NIA’s Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias clinical trials. Different types of studies include drug, caregiver and brain stimulation. The studies are conducted at Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers at major U.S. medical institutions.

NOTE FROM USA2

Alzheimer's Dailies will take a short hiatus on Thursday, January 16, 2020 and return on the 17th.