A treatment for Alzheimer’s failed to slow mental decline in a widely anticipated study, ending hope that researchers at by Eli Lilly had finally found a drug that does more to help those suffering from the fatal, mind-robbing disease.
The pharmaceutical company’s shares plunged 14 percent Wednesday before markets opened.
The drug, solanezumab, missed the study’s main goal when patients taking it did not experience a statistically significant slowing of cognitive decline – which involves a person’s ability to remember things – compared to those taking a placebo or fake drug.
Solanezumab also had failed in two previous large studies of people with mild-to-moderate forms of the disease, but combined results suggested it might slow decline for those with the mildest symptoms. Lilly then decided to start another study focused on those patients.
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative, fatal disease that impairs memory and thought. It is characterized by the buildup in the brain of a protein called amyloid beta that clumps together to form sticky plaques between nerve cells. More than 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.