A groundbreaking Alzheimer’s medication has demonstrated a remarkable ability to eliminate brain plaques in fewer than 28 weeks while causing minimal adverse reactions.
The experimental treatment, known as trontinemab, achieved amyloid clearance in 90 per cent of trial participants within this timeframe, according to findings unveiled at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto.
The medication’s exceptional safety record and reduced need for monitoring could make it the first dementia treatment to receive NHS funding, specialists suggest.
Phase three trials involving 1,600 participants are set to commence, with researchers also investigating whether the medication might prevent dementia in symptom-free individuals.
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Scientists hope the drug will halt the progression of the disease
The medication outperforms current licensed treatments significantly, achieving results in under seven months that existing drugs require 18 months to accomplish.
Current medications lecanemab and donanemab reduce cognitive decline by 27 per cent and 35 per cent respectively over 18 months, but require intensive monitoring due to risks of brain swelling and bleeding.
Trontinemab’s phase two trial involving 149 participants revealed fewer than five per cent experienced amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, with all cases resolving quickly.
The drug’s engineering enables it to cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively, delivering potent targeted effects at lower doses than existing treatments.
University College London’s Prof Sir John Hardy, who chairs the molecular biology of neurological disease, described the development as potentially “game-changing”.
“This is absolutely great news. It sucks the plaque out of the brain really quickly, much faster than we have seen with lecanemab or donanemab,” he stated.
Hardy, who first established amyloid’s role in Alzheimer’s, highlighted the medication’s vastly improved safety compared to existing treatments.
“There is no doubt this could be game-changing. We hope that if we can use these drugs for people early, we can halt the progression of the disease, even before people have symptoms. Now we need to see the size of the clinical effect,” he explained.
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Scientists have labelled the findings ‘promising’
Prof Jonathan Schott, Alzheimer’s Research UK’s chief medical officer, called the evidence “very promising”, noting the medication’s ability to clear amyloid effectively with minimal adverse effects.
“We urgently need a range of treatments for Alzheimer’s that are effective and safe for the people affected by this devastating disease,” Schott said.
Hardy emphasised the financial implications: “These results show it is much faster and safer than previous drugs, which means less monitoring. That brings down the cost significantly, it means fewer MRI scans, so that would surely mean it would get Nice approval.”
Roche’s chief medical officer Levi Garraway confirmed phase three trials would examine both symptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients.
