The UK biotech Bicycle Therapeutics announced a new partnership with the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) to use its novel platform to create new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, that include dementia. The last decade has seen a run of late-stage drug failures in Alzheimer’s disease, and 2019 alone has seen two major programmes crash in the phase 3
Alzheimer’s Research UK is requesting help from the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry to join its new taskforce to ensure those diagnosed with dementia can access future treatments without needless delay. The charity stated it had created the new taskforce on the back of analysis showing that the UK health system “will need to think
Researchers at Lancaster University have identified a type 2 diabetes drug that has shown potential benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The treatment combined three older diabetes drugs to create a “triple agonist”, that combines GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. The belief being that boosting levels of growth hormones will aid in protecting the brain
In an unusual move, Eli Lilly has changed the endpoint of an ongoing Phase III trial that assess its experimental beta amyloid antibody solanezumab in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Biogen Idec has announced plans to move their investigational Alzheimer’s drug into Phase III trials, after receiving promising early-stage clinical data. Douglas Williams, Biogen Idec’s R&D chief, noted that in the interim analysis of their Phase Ib clinical trial, aducanumab (also known as BIIB037) showed a significant reduction in the beta-amyloid protein in early-stage patients.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) has announced the launch of the world’s largest study into dementia, involving more than two million people. The clinical study will be conducted through the Medical Research Council and industry partners. The UK Dementias Research Platform (UKDP) will investigate the causes of dementia across a range of different neurodegenerative conditions,
Experts from the University of Southampton are to start research to discover whether stress can cause dementia. The study, which is being financed by the Alzheimer’s Society, will observe 140 people who currently have mild cognitive impairment or “pre-dementia” and investigate how stress affects the condition. They hope that the study will expose methods to
