The new drug has been hailed as a “turning point in the fight against Alzheimer’s” after slowing the progression of the disease, reports RTE.
Donanemeb has been shown to slow “clinical decline” by up to 35%, meaning people with the condition can continue to do their daily activities, including shopping, housework, managing finances, and taking medications.
Alzheimer’s Research UK states that we’re entering a new era where Alzheimer’s disease could become treatable”, reports RTE.
The Alzheimer’s Society says that one day a treatment like donanemab could mean that Alzheimer’s can be compared to other long-term conditions like asthma and diabetes.
This comes as scientists publish the final results of a study – known as TRAILBLAZER ALZ-2 – testing the safety and effectiveness of a drug developed by Eli Lilly and Company.
Researchers studied nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Half of them were given donanemeb monthly and the other half a dummy drug, also known as a placebo, for 18 months.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented at the International Conference of the Alzheimer’s Association in Amsterdam, showed that after 76 weeks of treatment, donanemab was able to induce a 35.1% clinical decline in people with early-onset Alzheimer’s that brain scans showed. Low to moderate levels of a protein called tau.
When the results were combined for people with different levels of this protein, there was a 22.3% slowdown in disease progression.
But researchers found that a small number of people in the study had serious side effects, such as brain swelling, reports RTE.
Meanwhile, three deaths in the donanemab group and one in the placebo group were considered “treatment related.”
Commenting on the results, Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is truly a turning point in the fight against Alzheimer’s and science is proving that it is possible to slow down the disease. Treatments like donanemab are the first steps towards a future where Alzheimer’s disease could be considered a long-term condition alongside diabetes or asthma – people may have to live with it, but they could have treatments that allow them to effectively manage their symptoms and continue to live fulfilled lives. Today’s full results support what we heard about donanemab back in May, that the drug is able to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by more than 20%,” reports RTE.
“This study adds to the growing evidence that treating people as early as possible may be more beneficial, with the effects of donanemab greater in people who were at an earlier stage of the disease. Diagnosis will be key to the access of any new treatments. We can’t have a situation where treatments are approved for use in the UK but people aren’t diagnosed early or accurately enough to be eligible. We need early, and accurate, diagnoses available for everyone and the NHS ready to roll out treatments such as donanemab and lecanemab if and when they are approved in the UK. It’s also important to note that side effects did occur, although serious side effects only occurred in 1.6% of people receiving the drug. Regulators will need to balance these side effects against the benefits of the drug. We should also note that the majority of people who took part in this trial were white – it’s crucial that in future trials we see more diversity to prove that new drug treatments have similar effects for everyone living with Alzheimer’s disease,” he added, reports RTE,
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