New Medications for Alzheimer’s: Revitalizing Hope in the Fight Against Dementia

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on Drugs research.

We will send you a daily email digest summarizing the latest Drugs research news.

Alzheimer’s disease has not only devastated the lives of its many sufferers but has also been a challenge for drug researchers. However, Eli Lilly has achieved a significant breakthrough with their new drug donanemab, which has shown to slow down memory loss. This drug is on track to become the second approved drug this year with the potential to alter the course of the disease.

Donanemab targets the removal of a toxic protein called amyloid, validating the belief that countering amyloid is crucial in treating Alzheimer’s. This advancement is shared with another similar drug, lecanemab, by Biogen and Eisai.

This breakthrough opens doors to a whole new class of dementia treatments, especially important considering the ageing populations in developed countries.

Both drugs, donanemab and lecanemab, have their own advantages. Donanemab requires infusions every four weeks, while lecanemab is administered twice as frequently. Patients can discontinue the drug if scans show that the amyloid “plaques” on their brains have cleared.

Safety remains a concern for both drugs as there were three suspected treatment-related deaths in each study.

Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug has contributed to the increase in its share valuation. The stock now trades at 49 times forward earnings, twice the value it held three years ago. However, this rise is largely driven by expectations for diabetes and obesity drugs, which make up nearly 60% of the company’s net present value.

For Biogen and Eisai, the stakes are higher due to their smaller sizes. When positive trial results for lecanemab were released in September, Biogen’s shares rose by almost 45% and Eisai’s by 17%. The US list price for lecanemab, known as Leqembi, is $26,500 per year. Analysts predict that Eisai and Biogen will split sales of $7.8 billion and operating profits of $5.2 billion by 2030.

Although these promising trial results do not put an end to the scientific debate surrounding Alzheimer’s, they do validate the significance of pharmaceutical research, especially in light of recent developments in weight-loss medicines and Covid-19 vaccines. These new drugs provide a stepping stone towards even better treatments in the future.