Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca Drop Two Late-Stage Alzheimer's Drug Trials
June 12 2018 - 5:31AM
Dow Jones News
By Preetika Rana
AstraZeneca PLC and Eli Lilly & Co. on Tuesday scrapped two
late-stage trials of an experimental Alzheimer's drug they were
co-developing, the latest blow in the long quest to find a
breakthrough for the memory-robbing disorder.
The companies said the decision was taken after an independent
data monitoring committee concluded that trials associated with
lanabecestat, the experimental drug, wouldn't achieve their
original goals. The companies said the treatment wasn't working as
well as they had hoped and ending the trials wasn't a result of any
safety concerns.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said the two will continue to jointly
pursue an early-stage trial of another experimental Alzheimer's
drug. Lilly separately has other Alzheimer's compounds in clinical
trials, according to a company spokeswoman.
Current treatments for Alzheimer's can alleviate symptoms, but
don't slow the condition's underlying progression. The brain
disease affects an estimated five million Americans, and tens of
millions globally, but has been tough for the drug industry to
crack because scientists don't fully understand what causes it.
Johnson & Johnson last month abandoned its pursuit of a
similar Alzheimer's candidate to the one AstraZeneca and Lilly said
they shelved. Pfizer Inc. in January said it would stop trying to
discover new drugs for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Late
last year, Axovant Sciences Inc. and Biogen Inc. reported
disappointing results from ongoing Alzheimer's research.
Some companies say they will continue to look because the need
is high and a breakthrough could potentially reap big commercial
rewards. Lilly, which has spent three decades trying to find a
blockbuster and in 2016 shelved a different Alzheimer's compound it
spent $1 billion developing, said it was committed to further
research despite the latest setback.
"We won't give up on finding a solution for Alzheimer's
patients," Daniel Skovronsky, president of Lilly Research Labs,
said in the joint statement.
Indianapolis-based Lilly joined forces with the U.K.'s
AstraZeneca to co-develop lanabecestat in 2014. Lilly was
responsible for the two trials--one for patients with early
Alzheimer's and the other for those suffering a milder form of the
disease--while AstraZeneca agreed to take on manufacturing. More
than 3,000 patients were enrolled across the trials, which were
expected to conclude in 2021, the AstraZeneca spokesman said.
The announcement came after market hours in New York, where
Lilly is listed. AstraZeneca's shares were trading down 0.58% on
the London Stock Exchange.
Write to Preetika Rana at preetika.rana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 12, 2018 06:16 ET (10:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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