Eisai's E2012 to enter human Ph I AD trials

Eisai Medical Research, a US clinical research subsidiary of Japanese drugmaker Eisai, says it will initiate a Phase I clinical trial for E2012, a gamma secretase modulator that is being evaluated as a potential new treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Eisai noted that this will be the first clinical trial of E2012 in people and pointed out that gamma secretase plays a role in the production of beta-amyloid, a major component of plaque in the brain, which is thought to be a cause of AD.

The agent is a New Chemical Entity discovered by Eisai and, in preclinical research, has shown some potential to reduce the production of beta-amyloid by modulating the function of gamma secretase.