Alzheimer’s treatment studies offer hope as UNLV expert predicts new potential drugs, biomarkers will yield critical insight for future development.
There are 164 trials assessing 127 drugs across the 2024 AD pipeline. There were 48 trials in Phase 3 testing 32 drugs, 90 trials in Phase 2 assessing 81 drugs, and 26 trials in Phase 1 testing 25 agents. Of the 164 trials, 34% (N = 56) assess disease-modifying biological agents, 41% (N = 68) test disease-modifying small molecule drugs, 10% (N = 17) evaluate cognitive enhancing agents, and 14% (N = 23) test drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms.
The world of Alzheimer’s treatments is at an inflection point as more potential drugs make their way out of clinical trials.
And on the heels of newly FDA-approved drugs Aduhelm® (aducanumab) in 2021 and Leqembi® (lecanemab) in 2023, a UNLV researcher says that 2024 is a “learning year” for Alzheimer’s drug development.
“There are a large number of drugs in the pipeline that have very diverse actions on the brain,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, a leading Alzheimer’s clinician-scientist and research professor in UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences.
“There are a large number of drugs in the pipeline that have very diverse actions on the brain,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, a leading Alzheimer’s clinician-scientist and research professor in UNLV’s School of Integrated Health Sciences.
Cummings leads the Alzheimer’s drug development observatory within UNLV’s Department of Brain Health, a robust database of all clinical trials results he began in 2016. It is the only observatory of its kind in the world.
While nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and are in need of better treatments, Cummings remains encouraged by the results of this year’s pipeline developments — including the recent inclusion of biomarkers, which are often found in blood and signal normal or abnormal processes, or a condition or disease. Alzheimer’s biomarkers can now be measured in the blood.
“Most of our biomarkers for Alzheimer’s and dementia have been discovered only within the past three years. They provide information on the drug’s impact,” he said. “Biomarkers will be featured in nearly all clinical trials moving forward to guide the process.”
https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/trc2.12465
