By Caroline Ster

A new experimental drug has shown potential to slow Alzheimer’s symptoms. Earlier this month, Biogen and Eisai announced the positive results of the drug BAN2401, which has shown to slow deadly brain-destroying disease over the course of 18 months when taking the highest dose.

The results have been reported to be not only statistically significant at 18 months, but as early as 6 and 12 months. Full data has not been released, but will be in the future. The new report is surprising, since researchers previously had announced BAN2401 trials were unsuccessful.

This clinical trial was originally designed to compare five different doses of BAN2401 versus a placebo. In the original trial, 856 patients had been studied for 12 months, but there were no findings of success.

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The new results for BAN2401 revive the “amyloid hypothesis”, the idea that drugs that cause lower levels of beta amyloid in the brain have the potential to slow Alzheimer’s disease. Other amyloid-targeting medicines in the past have failed, including intepirdine from Axovant Sciences and solanezumab from Eli Lilly.

BAN2401 was developed by a Sweden-based BioArctic Neuroscience and was acquired by Eisai in 2007. Now, it has become a part of a wide-ranging Alzheimer’s partnership between Eisai and Biogen that includes testing and commercializing.

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