Eisai And Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Research Finds Positive Results
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : September 30, 2022Despite multiple drug makers failing to develop an effective drug against Alzheimer’s, Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen have stated their research on the same has come up with significant results.
Both Eisai and Biogen together experimented to develop an effective drug against the fatal condition that brings irreversible dementia. The current update suggests that the experiment has succeeded in creating a drug that has shown effective results in reducing the cognitive and functional decline in Alzheimer’s patients.
This latest remark by drugmakers brings hope to over 55 million people all around the world who have been diagnosed with this severe condition associated with memory. Like the same easy, this invention also would motivate current research on the same that have been underdone by Roche and Eli Lilly.
Positive Findings From Eisai And Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Research
As per the reports from Alzheimer’s Association, the total number of patients with Alzheimer’s is going to be roughly doubled in America by the year 2050, and that would be a total of 13 million. The global count by 2050 will be 139 billion, according to Alzheimer’s Disease International, if no effective treatment has been discovered.
The new Eisai-Biogen drug has been named Lacanemab, which helped to reach the ultimate goals of the experiment. It was a randomized placebo-controlled trial, in which the drug effectively could reduce the progress of the disease by 27% more than the placebo. As there is no known treatment currently available to treat Alzheimer’s these findings offer potential hope for an immense crowd that has been victimized, as well as their families.
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As per the statement from Eisai, the trials were conducted on 1800 patients and the results confirm the amyloid beta deposits in the brain raise the chance of Alzheimer’s and the removal of this protein can delay its advancement.
However, Lecanemab is an intravenous antibody that works by removing amyloid deposits. Previously, the Eisai-Biogen duo developed a similar drug called Aduhelm, but the current drug has an additional peculiarity to target forms of amyloid that have not yet clumped together.
Ronald Petersen, the director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota stated on Thursday that although Eisai-Biogen drug results don’t bring a huge effect, but bring a positive impact.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jeff Cummings, the director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at the University of Nevada Las Vegas stated that if it is possible to slow down the progress of the disease by 30% it would be great.
According to the CEO of Eisai, Haruo Naito, the company is about to seek approval from the FDA on Lecanemab, to make it available for the common crowd in the US, Europe, and Japan by the end of 2023. Regarding the approval, the agency’s final decision is expected to be released in the early week of January.
Earlier, when Aduhelm got its approval from FDA last year, it was quite controversial as some scientists have challenged its effective functioning. This was due to the plaque cleaning ability of Aduhelm, rather than its properties to combat cognitive decline. However, the decision of the FDA came after its panel of outside experts was advised against the approval.
Whereas, the current drug is not likely to cause any controversies since its top-line results are quite convincing. besides, it is still very early to ensure if it can buy any clinically meaningful impact, as per the statement of Dr. Kristian Steen Frederikson, the director of a clinical trial unit at the University of Copenhagen.
Dr. Frederikson further noted that Alzheimer’s is quite complex, and the amyloid-related pathology can’t only be the reason behind this condition. So, focusing on a single aspect may not be going to bring any large-scale effects in the future.
References:
🔵National Library Of Medicine (n.d) Long-Term Health Outcomes of Lecanemab in Patients with Early Alzheimer’s Disease Using Simulation Modeling (Available On):https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35469060/
🔵WebMD (2005-2022) What Are Anti-amyloid Therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease? (Available On):https://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/anti-amyloid-therapies-alzheimers
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.