Dementia Support Line
Intepirdine fails to treat Alzheimer’s disease in Phase 3 trial
Axovant Sciences today announced that the Phase 3 MINDSET trial of its Alzheimer’s drug intepirdine has failed to bring meaningful improvements in cognition or daily functioning.
The drug was given to people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease who were already taking donepezil, the standard Alzheimer’s treatment, for 24 weeks. Although intepirdine appears to be well tolerated, there were no benefits in memory and thinking, or in the ability to perform daily tasks such as dressing, shopping and using public transport, when compared to those taking a placebo.
The company will work with investigators to finish the MINDSET open-label extension study in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Intepirdine is still being investigated as a treatment for people with dementia with Lewy bodies in the HEADWAY trial, which will continue.
Full details are available on the Axovant website.
Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research at Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“After fifteen years of waiting for a breakthrough, it’s hugely disappointing that yet another drug for Alzheimer’s disease has failed. This will come as a painful blow to the millions of people and their families desperate for new treatments.
“But this isn’t cause to lose hope. Although dementia is currently incurable, our recent investment in the UK Dementia Research Institute will enable us to broaden our focus, and increase the chance of finding new drugs. For too long research has focused on just a handful of pathways in the brain, but with the chance now to interrogate many more mechanisms involved in the progression of dementia, we’re hopeful we can unearth new treatments.
“This ground-breaking initiative could not have arrived at a better time. As the number of people living with dementia in the UK is set to reach 1 million by 2021, the stakes are too high to fail.”
