Another failure in search for treatment to slow Alzheimer’s

Lilly’s solanezumab sought to slow disease progression by targeting beta-amyloid circulating in the bloodstream. The yield on that note is at its highest in more than six years.

Biogen Inc., Merck & Co. and Roche Holding AG, which all have late-stage – known as phase 3 – trials, offered similar perspectives, saying they remained confident in their clinical programs and stressing that each therapy is created to attack the condition in different ways.

Professor Peter Roberts, emeritus professor of pharmacology at the University of Bristol, says he is not surprised at the results.

BIIB is conducting two phase III trials to asses safety and effectiveness in slowing the decline in cognitive ability in patients with early stage Alzheimer’s. “We felt the dose was adequate”, he said.

The drug, solanezumab, was created to clear brain-clogging amyloid plaques, which are a main physical symptom of the disease. RBC analyst Michael Yee had suggested Biogen could spike on Eli Lilly’s success.

Meanwhile, the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona is testing the effects of three different therapies that target amyloid production, one of which is an antibody, on people at high genetic risk of Alzheimer’s. In 2015, it had shown some positive results in a small number of patients with mild Alzheimer’s.

“Eli Lilly said it would not pursue approval for the drug to treat mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease and that it will “evaluate the impact of these results on the development plans for solanezumab and our other Alzheimer’s pipeline assets” …”

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Even so, the drug would have provided a huge shot in the arm for the Indianapolis-based drugmaker. And even those generate sales of about billion. Lilly and other companies have developed drugs that try to stop the buildup of a sticky protein in the brain known as beta amyloid – believed by many to be the primary culprit in the disease. Those products could generate $10 billion a year by 2025, according to Goldman Sachs drug analyst Jami Rubin. Lilly has strong growth prospects without solanezumab because of new treatments for diabetes, cancer and other conditions, he said.

Lilly’s drug is still being studied in two other major tests.

One of the biggest hopes is a class of experimental drugs called BACE inhibitors, which work by blocking production of beta amyloid. “Over that time frame, we also expect to increase our margins and provide annual dividend increases to our shareholders”. Yet her commitment is particularly apt because Sanofi pulled back from Alzheimer’s research a few years ago under former Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher. There is no effective treatment.

Solanezumab is among the first of a new group of treatments that are created to address the brain disorder at its root cause, rather than just relieve symptoms. The company said it’s still committed to Alzheimer’s, and that it has other compounds it is studying. It has closed at a record high for nine consecutive days.

Lilly’s earnings per share are expected to rise by 14 percent a year on average over five years, said Sanford Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson, making the company “among the very best growers in our coverage universe”. “People come here every day to make a difference”.

“While the news today is not what any of us wanted to hear, we want to offer our heartfelt appreciation to the entire Lilly team, including the tens of thousands researchers and clinical trials coordinators, in its steadfast commitment, leadership and unwavering resolve to work to vanquish this complex disease”, said George Vradenburg, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s co-founder and chairman.