Novel drugs from Anavex hope to reverse Alzheimer's damage amid a stagnant marketplace

Alzheimer’s is not an easy disease to research and develop around. The physical and psychological manifestations of the illness, combined with the difficulties in knowing whether treatment is indeed effective, which in turn mean long periods of time needed for study, results in a hugely underserved therapy area with little immediate incentive for businesses to innovate. The lack of biomarkers makes clinical trials difficult to quantify, and the best biomarker in Alzheimer’s is memory improvement, requiring very sensitive measurements.

Beyond cholinterase inhibitors and memantine

There are currently only two types of medications approved to treat Alzheimer’s in the USA, and those cover only the cognitive symptoms of memory loss, confusion and reasoning. Companies are looking for ways to move beyond cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, and onto novel therapeutics that tackle more elements of the disease. Despite the fact previous drugs were very effective in removing amyloid plaque, there has often been no correlation in the improvement of symptoms, quality of life or memory.