Lilly, Roche Drugs Fail to Stymie Inherited Form of Alzheimer's

A clinical trial of experimental drugs from Eli Lilly and Roche Holdings found the medications did not stunt the progression of a rare hereditary form of Alzheimer's disease, reports the Wall Street Journal . The trial assessed the two drugs' ability to decelerate worsening cognitive function in carriers of genetic mutations linked to dominantly inherited Alzheimer's. The subjects either had no symptoms or mild dementia at the outset, with some given Lilly's solanezumab, others administered Roche's gantenerumab, and still others receiving a placebo. Neither solanezumab nor gantenerumab, which are designed to reduce beta amyloid accumulations in the brain, effectively slowed cognitive declines. Lilly said it will not pursue an application for regulatory approval of its drug to treat dominantly inherited Alzheimer's, while Roche said it cannot make firm conclusions about gantenerumab's effect on people with the disorder.