Roche and AC Immune have become the latest companies to face frustration in the hunt for a viable Alzheimer’s treatment.
This week, the duo announced that their experimental treatment, semorinemab, failed to improve cognitive function in a phase 2 trial of patients with early Alzheimer’s. The companies had hoped that because the treatment targets “tau” proteins, it would prove to be more effective than other Alzheimer’s treatments in trials that instead fight amyloid beta peptides.
Despite the “surprising and disappointing results,” AC Immune’s CEO, Andrea Pfeifer, said that she hopes the results will advance the industry’s understanding of these treatments and “inform future efforts.”
Semorinemab is the latest in a growing line of Alzheimer’s treatment failures. But the FDA is currently reviewing information about another treatment: Biogen’s aducanumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets amyloid beta peptides.
Read the full Reuters report.
