Biogen jumps on early-stage Alzheimer's drug success

As Eli Lilly’s (NYSE: LLY) Phase III Alzheimer’s disease drug candidate solanezumab was dropped due to disappointing results, the chief focus at the current AD conference turned to an early-stage candidate form biotech firm Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB), which saw the latter’s shares gain 4.8% to $303.48 at the start of trading on Friday, though they levelled back to $287.77 by close.

Biogen presented new data from the Phase 1b (PRIME) study of aducanumab, its investigational treatment for early Alzheimer’s, at the 9th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) meeting in San Diego.

Data presentations included interim results from the titration cohort of the placebo-controlled period of the Phase 1b study as well as data from the first year of the long-term extension (LTE). The results support the ongoing Phase III studies of aducanumab for early AD.