Alzheimer's

JPMorgan steps in for Myriad Genetics review

John Carroll — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:26:19 -0400

Fresh on the heels of its Phase III disaster with the Alzheimer's drug Flurizan, Myriad Genetics announced that it has brought in JPMorgan Chase to help it conduct a strategic review. The developer is considering a split of its molecular diagnostics business and pharma development operations. Myriad had $65.5 million on hand June 30, largely from the $100 million upfront fee it collected from H. Lundbeck for Flurizan. Lundbeck reported a 52 percent drop in second quarter profits after writing off Flurizan.

--read the report in the Wall Street Journal

TauRx reportedly in partnership talks for Rember

John Carroll — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:11:04 -0400

The largely unknown TauRx has been basking in the limelight of some startling efficacy data for its experimental Alzheimer's drug--Rember. TauRx was founded by research scientists at Aberdeen University who opted to base the company in Singapore, where officials were willing to provide funding without the kind of stinging equity bite the UK venture crowd was demanding.

Now TauRx officials tell The Times that ongoing discussions may soon lead to new partnerships for the fledgling biotech. The IP for Rember is entirely owned by TauRx, but that may soon change.

- read the article from The Times

Researchers herald breakthrough data on Alzheimer's

John Carroll — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:36:12 -0400

TauRx Therapeutics captured the center ring of attention at an international Alzheimer's meeting with new data for remberTM that demonstrates a dramatic ability to slow cognitive decline. Researchers say that remberTM slowed cognitive decline in 81 percent of the patients taking the drug, the first therapy to target the tau protein. And scientists at Aberdeen University in Scotland say that remberTM may well slow the brain's deterioration.

"This is an unprecedented result in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," said Professor Claude Wischik. "We have demonstrated for the first time that it may be possible to arrest progression of the disease by targeting the tangles which are highly correlated with the disease."

Alzheimer's has proven to be one of the toughest diseases for developers to crack. On Monday Myriad Genetics announced that it would give up on Flurizan after it failed in a late-stage trial. Myriad spent $60 million on its effort to find a new therapy to treat Alzheimer's and will shell out an additional $8 million just shutting the program down. Flurizan was designed to reduce plaque, but patients in the trial did not demonstrate any improvement in cognition or daily activities when compared to a group taking a placebo.

- check out the release
- read the article from the Guardian
- for more on Myriad read this story from Forbes

ALSO: Elan and Wyeth, meanwhile, presented a full set of mid-stage data for their amyloid-clearing therapy bapineuzumab , saying that the data justified their decision to pursue advanced studies. But the Wall Street Journal says that experts may be underwhelmed by the data displayed at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago. Shares of Elan slid on the news. Release | Report

Dimebon shows positive data in Alzheimer’s study

John Carroll — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:47:53 -0400

A drug once approved as an antihistamine in Russia improved thinking processes and ability to function in patients with Alzheimer's disease in a study conducted there, said an expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The findings are published in the journal The Lancet.

"More research is needed, but we are encouraged by the effect the drug Dimebon had on Alzheimer's patients," said Dr. Rachelle Doody, professor of neurology at BCM and lead author of the study. In the study, the authors noted that Dimebon is the first drug for Alzheimer's disease that demonstrated continued improvement in patients over a 12 month period. Other approved drugs do not have this effect.

- read the release

New direction for Alzheimer's research?

John Carroll — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:06:14 -0400

Pharmawire examines the likely impact that the failure of the late-stage trial for Flurizan will have on R&D projects in the Alzheimer's arena. Experts say that the research could now head in a new direction. Article

Alzheimer's drug results boost Elan, Wyeth

Maureen Martino — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:02:51 -0400

Wyeth and Elan's shares were up today as the companies announced potentially promising results from a phase II trial of bapineuzumab, an Alzheimer's treatment. The study did not attain statistical significance on the efficacy endpoints in the overall study population, but the vaccine helped patients without a gene known as ApoE4. About 70 percent of Alzheimer's sufferers don't have the ApoE4 gene. A spokesperson for the company said the results support the decision to move bapineuzumab into Phase III trials.

- see this release for more

SPOTLIGHT: Epix wins $7.5M milestone

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:53 -0400

Epix Pharmaceuticals says it's due a $7.5 million milestone payment from GSK now that it's launched a Phase IIb trial of a new therapy for Alzheimer's. Researchers say the therapy could one day be part of a drug 'cocktail' used to treat the memory-wasting illness. Epix release

Astellas pays $760M for Alzheimer's program

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Another day, another big biotech deal. This time it's Japan's Astellas Pharma, which is paying $760 million for access to CoMentis's Alzheimer's drug. The development and commercialization agreement covers CoMentis' entire beta-secretase inhibitor program, which includes the company's CoMentis' lead Alzhiemer's compound CTS-21166. CoMentis lands an upfront payment of $80 million and an equity investment of $20 million. It could also receive up to $660 million in development milestones along with performance-based commercialization milestones.

"I strongly believe that CoMentis is very sophisticated in small-molecule drug discovery and development in CNS, the area of attention. Astellas is committed to developing the CNS therapeutic area as one of our prioritized therapeutic areas, and this partnership is expected to be a driving force to accelerate the establishment of our CNS infrastructure," said Hirofumi Onosaka, Astellas's Senior Corporate Executive.

The deal is one of several recent examples of collaboration between American and Japanese biotech companies. Takeda, of course, recently bid for $8.8 billion for Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Amgen bought Kyowa Hakko's antibody drug KW-0761, and in November Astellas also bought Santa Monica, CA-based Agensys.

- here's the Astellas release

Wyeth, Elan suspend Alzheimer's vaccine study

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Wyeth and Elan have suspended dosing patients in a mid-stage study of the experimental Alzheimer's vaccine ACC-001 after seeing one of the patients in the study develop skin lesions. Studies of ACC-001 that have been mounted outside of the U.S. have also been suspended. Researchers, though, quickly sought to reassure investors that another late-stage program for AAB-001 wasn't affected by the unexplained case of lesions. AAB-001, or bapineuzumab, has demonstrated an improvement in cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients in a small study and is being closely followed by the investment community.

- read the story in the Wall Street Journal
- read the story in TheStreet.com

Related Articles:
Wyeth stumbles badly trying to develop new drugs. Wyeth report
Wyeth, Elan advance Phase III Alzheimer's trial. Alzheimer's report

Memory refocuses on lead programs

Maureen Martino — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:56:35 -0400

Memory Pharmaceuticals is retooling its operations to focus less on drug discovery research a near-term and mid- term efforts. In particular, the company is extending the preclinical research part of its PDE10 deal with Amgen for neurological and psychiatric disorders. It will also focus on its nicotinic alpha-7 receptor agonist program with Roche along with two proprietary programs for Alzheimer's and other indications.

"After conducting a thorough review of our pipeline, opportunities and financial resources, we have decided to focus on those areas where we can most optimally apply our expertise to create significant clinical and shareholder value," said Memory's President and CEO Vaughn M. Kailian. Memory made our list of the worst pharma stocks of 2007.

- see Memory's release

Related Articles:
Memory's Alzheimer's drug aces Phase II. Report
Memory's Alzheimer's drug flunks Phase II. Report
Memory shares plunge as lead drug fails trial. Report
Big pharma sees big payback for Alzheimer's research. Report
Study shows that Alzheimer's drugs don't work. Report