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Lilly readies Phase III Alzheimer's trial
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Struggling to right itself after a long dry spell in new drug approvals, Eli Lilly is preparing to a launch a late-stage study of an experimental drug for Alzheimer's. LY450139 is expected to inhibit an enzyme that plays a role in the development of beta amyloid, a plaque that has long been linked to the memory-wasting disease. And they're making the move at the same time a slate of biotech developers are moving toward late-stage studies of their own therapies. Myriad Genetics wrapped its late stage study of Flurizan last week. Eli Lilly last launched a new drug for humans in 2005. There is currently no cure for the disease and up to now, most of the therapies on the market have been noted for their lack of efficacy.
"The new hope is to effect the disease at the very basic pathology, so you're actually stopping it, not just managing the symptoms," Dr. Daniel D. Christensen, professor of psychiatry, neurology and pharmacology at the University of Utah's Neuropsychiatric Institute told the Indianapolis Star.
- here's the release
- read the article in the Indianapolis Star
ALSO: Eli Lilly's new CEO, John Lechleiter (photo), faces a big Zyprexa settlement and the loss of a key patent, but he still sees his glass as half full as new research highlights a host of new drug targets. See why Lechleiter views Lilly as something of a biotech company inside a Big Pharma organization. Report
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Comments
By Anonymous | Posted 3:16pm | December 15, 2009
Dec 15th 2009 - Regading Eli Lilly LY450139 - Bad effects in animals can indicate possible risks to humans. A higher rate of cancer of the ovaries and cancer of the uterus was seen in old animals that were given LY450139 every day from the time they were young compared with animals not given LY450139. The effect on ovaries was likely ralted to the effect of LY450139 on young, active ovaries. The effect on the uterus might also be related to the effects on ovaries and changes in hormones that might occur because of that. hile the relevance to humans is not completely understood, human females taking LY450139 must be post menipausal (i.e. have no menstrual periods for at least 12 months in a row or have had both ovaries removed), so their ovaries will no longer be active when they start taking LY450139. Including only post menpausal women is likely to reduce the risk. Ovarian or uterine cancer has not been reported with LY450139 in any of the human studies done so far.
