Game Changer: New Alzheimer’s Drug Could Stop The Disease
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Major trial begins for a medicine that has the potential to halt the degenerative condition in its tracks before symptoms even appear. That would be really good news.
A new Alzheimer’s drug could prevent dementia before symptoms show, with research suggesting it could clear toxic brain plaques in just three months. Trontinemab, a medicine given as a monthly infusion, will be offered to about 1,600 people with no memory problems who are at high risk of the disease to see whether it can stave off symptoms. Scientists said the landmark trial could be a “game changer”, raising the prospect of “statins for the brain” being routinely offered to people in mid-life.
The phase III trial - the final pre-approval testing stage for a new treatment - will use blood tests to identify those most likely to benefit from taking part. People aged 55 and over who are “cognitively unimpaired” but have biomarkers linked to the development of Alzheimer’s will be invited to take part.
Trontinemab, manufactured by Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche, works by removing sticky amyloid plaques that aggregate in the brain and cause the degenerative disease. The drug is a next-generation version of lecanemab and donanemab, the first Alzheimer’s drugs shown to slow disease progression.
Dr Maria Carrillo, chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Association, said: “This is the future of Alzheimer’s care, targeting the earliest stages of the disease, including in its silent stage before memory issues arise. This is when treatments may have the greatest benefit - perhaps even keeping people from ever experiencing dementia symptoms.”
Hilary Evans-Newton, the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The science is advancing rapidly, and every new discovery brings us closer to a future where diseases can be identified and treated much earlier. Over the next five to 10 years, we will see a transformation in what’s possible, including the prospect of treatments that help protect brain health before symptoms progress - the concept of a ‘statin for the brain’.”