A dementia charity has hailed a “historic moment” in Alzheimer’s research as a new drug has been found to reduce memory decline among patients with early-stage disease. Lecanemab was found to slow decline in participants’ memory and thinking.
Alzheimer’s Research UK said the finding was a “historic moment for dementia research”, as this is the first later-stage trial of an Alzheimer’s drug “in a generation” to successfully slow cognitive decline. The phase three clinical trial results have been reported by Eisai, a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company that has partnered with US biotech firm Biogen to develop lecanemab.
Eisai reported results from a trial on 1,795 participants with early Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab is designed to target and clear amyloid, one of the proteins that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s at an early stage of the disease.
