Urgent need for disease-modifying Alzheimer's drugs to tackle slow development, says analyst

As World Alzheimer’s Day 2019 approaches (September 21), with the aim this year of raising global awareness and understanding of the stigma, stereotypes and myths that surround a dementia diagnosis; Alessio Brunello, pharma analyst at GlobalData, comments: ‘‘Its timely to reflect that no new drug for Alzheimer’s disease AD) has been approved in the past 17 years, despite more than 400 clinical trials and billions of dollars being spent in an attempt to tackle the disease and address unmet needs.’’

The AD drug development pipeline is considered to have one of the highest failure rates of all indications. Of the 117 drugs currently in development across all stages in the seven major markets (7MM= USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan), only 12% are in late-stage development; dominated by small molecules and monoclonal antibodies.

Mr Brunello adds: ‘‘Amyloid precursor protein (Aβ peptide and protein) microtubule associated protein tau (MAPT) and Beta secretase1 inhibitors (BACE1) are the major targets being pursued by companies developing drugs against AD.’’