J&J and Pfizer drop bapineuzumab development for Alzheimer's

There was disappointing - though not really unexpected - news yesterday for US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and global drugs behemoth Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), when the companies announced that Phase III clinical development of their investigational drug bapineuzumab intravenous (IV) in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease is being discontinued. The co-primary clinical endpoints, change in cognitive and functional performance compared to placebo, were not met in the studies.

Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy (Janssen AI), a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is a partner with Pfizer in the Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program (AIP). The Joint Steering Committee for the AIP has decided to discontinue the development of bapineuzumab IV in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease based on the co-primary clinical endpoints not being met in the Janssen AI-led Studies 301 and 302.

"While we are disappointed in the results of the two bapineuzumab IV studies, particularly in light of the urgent need for new advancements in Alzheimer's disease, we believe that targeting and clearing beta amyloid remains a promising path to potential clinical benefits for people suffering from this disease," said Husseini Manji, global therapeutic area head for Neuroscience, Janssen Research & Development. "Janssen remains strongly committed to tackling the enormous unmet medical needs in Alzheimer's disease. We believe the trial results will provide a rich data set that will advance our understanding of this complex disease and inform future research in this field. Studies with other compounds in earlier stages of development in the AIP portfolio are continuing and future development strategies will be discussed jointly by the alliance partners," he added.