Alzheimer’s Drug Dumped After Second Clinical Failure

An experimental Alzheimer’s drug, which had some experts in the elder care industry creeping closer to the edge of their seats in anticipation, was just abandoned by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, reports Reuters.

No more studies are scheduled for the previously promising drug, called bapineuzumab, after it failed to produce significant results in its most-recent clinical trial.

This marks the second time in several weeks that bapineuzumab was unsuccessful inimproving cognitive functioning in people in the mild-to-moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease, when compared to a placebo.

A recent announcement by Pfizer proclaimed that the drug was ineffective in people carrying the genetic abnormality associated with early-onset Alzheimer’s.

Going into this most recent trial, researchers hoped that the treatment, aimed at attacking clusters of the brain plaques attributed to Alzheimer’s, would be more effective in people without a genetic predisposition for the disease.

It didn’t—an outcome which some feel lends support to the idea that the key to treating Alzheimer’s disease effectively will be to detect and combat it before it gains a foothold in a person’s brain.

The devastating nature of Alzheimer’s and the desperate desire for a cure are the fueling the pharmaceutical arms race to discover a viable treatment for the disease. But, recent setbacks highlight the importance of maintaining the proper perspective on a quest that looks to be more of a marathon than a sprint.
Source: agingcare.com

Contact Pure Home Care Services at (586) 293-2457 today! If you live in Warren or the surrounding area, we can help you care for your loved ones.