Lilly Alzheimer's Drug Helped Patients in Small Trial

Eli Lilly reported that its experimental Alzheimer's drug donanemab slowed the decline in memory and ability to perform daily living activities by 32 percent after 18 months in a small trial, according to the Wall Street Journal . This is compared to participants who received a placebo. Although donanemab did not stop the disease, if the findings hold up, it would suggest the drug can at least slow Alzheimer's progression. Lilly aims to confirm these findings through a larger, 500-subject study. Lilly's Daniel Skovronsky said donanemab was designed to clear amyloid plaques in addition to blocking their accumulation. Investigators also administered subjects a much higher dose of donanemab than researchers had given of earlier anti-amyloid medications. For donanemab's Phase 2 trial, the team enrolled subjects whose brain images indicated both amyloid buildup and tangles of the tau protein. Twenty-seven percent of subjects on donanemab showed signs of fluid accrual in the brain, with 6 percent experiencing symptoms.