New Alzheimer's drug developed, Amsterdam professor is hopeful

A new drug for Alzheimer's disease is working, according to research published by the pharmaceutical company this week. It's promising, says professor Wiesje van der Flier of the Alzheimer's Center at Amsterdam UMC. "The drug counteracts the damage to the brain and slows down the disease process. That's hopeful."

The global study will be presented at this year's AAIC International Alzheimer's Congress, which will be held in Amsterdam in July. Van der Flier is also looking forward to publishing the results in a scientific journal. "The results are also consistent with the results of a similar drug that was published late last year. That gives confidence."

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company will now apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of the drug. "This drug could then soon be available on the U.S. market, along with another drug (Lecanemab) that the FDA has already approved," Van der Flier said. "It may take about two years before it is available in the Netherlands." This also requires approval of the drug called donanemab by the European regulatory agency EMA.

Important aspects play a role in this approval. For example, the drug, which is administered by infusion, is associated with risks. Usually, side effects are minor and limited to dizziness or sometimes blurred vision. In rare cases, however, bleeding can occur. "So the positive and negative aspects have to be weighed against each other," Van der Flier said. In addition, treatment with the drug is intensive and the drug is expensive.

However, the drug should be used at an early stage of the disease. "The brain damage in Alzheimer's develops over a period of 20 or 30 years. By the time dementia actually appears, it's already too late," Van der Flier explained. So this is a relatively small group of patients who are at just the right stage for this drug to be used.

All in all, it will take some time before Alzheimer's becomes a thing of the past, Van der Flier emphasized. "But this drug is an important step." In the meantime, many other trials of drugs for forms of dementia are underway. "In this way, it may eventually become possible to combat many different forms of brain damage," the Amsterdam professor hopes.