Faced with several clinical setbacks, Eli Lilly neuroscience chief David Bredt has announced that today is his last day with the company. Bredt joined Lilly in 2004, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The most notable of Lilly neurological drug setbacks was the Alzheimer's drug semagacestat. The company halted further development of the drug in August 2010 after clinical trials revealed that semagacestat not only failed its endpoints on slowing progression, it actually worsened the condition of the patients on the drug. More recently an FDA panel rejected Lilly's Amyvid (florbetapir), and imaging chemical for Alzheimer's, saying that the developer needs to set up a training program to show physicians how to use the compound.
A spokesperson for Lilly tells the WSJ that Bredt left voluntarily and that the company remains committed to neuroscience research. Almost a fifth of Lilly's pipeline drugs address neurological conditions, including late-stage compounds solanezumab for Alzheimers and Neri for depression, notes the WSJ.
- read the WSJ article