Alzheimer’s drug shown to limit cognitive decline
An Alzheimer’s drug developed by US pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly was shown to slow cognitive decline in a clinical trial. The results, presented yesterday at an Alzheimer’s conference in Amsterdam, suggested that donanemab, an antibody treatment, slowed the disease’s progression in its early stages by 35 per cent compared to a placebo. It does not improve symptoms and does not provide as much benefit to people in the later stages of the disease. But the results are “very encouraging”, says neurologist Reisa Sperling at Harvard Medical School, particularly as they are similar to another drug called lecanemab. Eli Lilly said it would submit the drug for FDA approval. It’s unclear how much it would cost, but lecanemab has been priced at more than $26,000 a year.