Last chance for one medication solanezumab to finish?

12/6/2011 Posts: 1319

From Alzheimer's Daily News: (Source: Bloomberg Business Week) - For millions of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, an experimental drug from Eli Lilly & Co. may now be their last hope for treatment. Pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson pulled the plug Aug. 6 on their joint development of a similar Alzheimer's therapy, after that drug failed to show any benefit in two late-stage studies. Lilly has said it will release its findings by the end of September. Company executives warn that a successful outcome for the drug, solanezumab, is a long shot. After years of research, a cure or even a treatment to slow the progression of Alzheimer's remains elusive. Little is known about what causes the disease and efforts to alter its course are littered with failures. The Pfizer-J&J drug that failed earlier this week, called bapineuzumab, and Lilly's both target plaque that builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients that some believe may be the cause of the disease. Lilly's drug targets the floating plaque while the Pfizer-J&J drug goes after the deposits of plaque. There may be other factors as well, such as the over development of a protein called tau. The only other therapy on the immediate horizon that has shown success against the illness in mid-stage human trials is Baxter International's Gammagard. The product is an expensive, relatively scarce treatment derived from donated blood plasma that replaces antibodies in people whose immune systems can't protect them from infection. Results on whether it could slow or stop the mind-robbing disease in a final-stage study may be available next year. Go to full story: http://www.businessweek.com