Many pharmaceutical companies have not yet succeeded in finding an effective treatment for the disease that affects brain functions, and the number of its patients around the world has reached about 55 million.
“It’s not a big effect, but it’s a positive effect,” said Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, commenting on the results of a study on the new drug published late Tuesday evening.
The drug lekanmab slowed the progression of the disease by 27 percent compared to a placebo, achieving the main goal of the study, which may give hope to patients and their families who yearn for an effective treatment.
The race to halt the deterioration of Alzheimer’s disease comes at a time when the number of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s is expected to nearly double to 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, a volunteer health organization dedicated to patient care and medical research.
According to the Alzheimer’s Disease International, an organization that brings together global links to combat the disease, the number may reach 139 million globally by 2050 if no effective treatment is found.
Eisai, who leads the licanmab partnership program and is half in it, is seeking US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval on a faster-paced track, with a decision expected in early January.
Chief Executive Officer Haruo Neto told reporters in Tokyo that Eisai aims to have the drug fully approved and marketed in the United States, Europe and Japan by the end of 2023.
Esai said the findings from the study of 1,800 patients prove the long-standing theory that removing accumulated stores of a protein called amyloid beta in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients can slow the progression of the disease.
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