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A new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, the first in nearly 20 years, may be approved in the US on Monday, which would trigger pressure to make it available worldwide.
Any decision is likely to be controversial. While doctors, patients and the organisations that support them are desperate for treatments that can slow mental deterioration, the usefulness of the new drug,aducanumab, is disputed by scientists. Two trials were stopped in March 2019 because the drugs appeared not to work. The manufacturer, Biogen, said the drugs were unlikely to improve people’s memory and thinking.
But the company later announced that a reanalysis of more patient data from one of the trials involving people who had taken the drugs for longer showed that a high dose could slow the decline of memory and thinking skills and the ability to carry out activities in daily life. It applied to regulators for a licence.
www.theguardian.com
Any decision is likely to be controversial. While doctors, patients and the organisations that support them are desperate for treatments that can slow mental deterioration, the usefulness of the new drug,aducanumab, is disputed by scientists. Two trials were stopped in March 2019 because the drugs appeared not to work. The manufacturer, Biogen, said the drugs were unlikely to improve people’s memory and thinking.
But the company later announced that a reanalysis of more patient data from one of the trials involving people who had taken the drugs for longer showed that a high dose could slow the decline of memory and thinking skills and the ability to carry out activities in daily life. It applied to regulators for a licence.
FDA approves first new Alzheimer’s drug in almost 20 years
Usefulness of aducanumab is disputed but US approval will trigger push to make it available globally
www.theguardian.com
