Medicine for Alzheimer’s passes initial safety test – 07/17/2023 – Health

An experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease has passed an initial safety assessment and will move on to a larger trial, Acumen Pharmaceuticals announced Sunday.

The drug, ACI193, was well tolerated in the first human trial, the company said. The results of the study, with 62 patients who developed the disease early, were presented at the International Conference of the Alzheimer’s Association in Amsterdam.

The drug binds to beta-amyloid oligomers, a toxic, soluble version of the amyloid protein that forms brain plaques associated with the disease, according to Eric Siemers, chief medical officer at Acumen.

The target is similar to Biogen and Eisai’s newly approved Leqembi, which targets another toxic, soluble form of the protein in the brain. The treatment gained standard US approval earlier this month after showing it can remove amyloid plaques and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in early-stage patients.

In the Acumen study, 10.4% of treated participants developed a brain swelling condition known as ARIA-E associated with treatments targeting the amyloid protein. Of these, only one had symptoms, which resolved after discontinuing the medication.

Another 8.3% developed treatment-associated bleeding in the brain, known as ARIA-H.

“Since this antibody targets the oligomers but is not intended to reach the plaque, we didn’t know whether we would have ARIA or not,” Siemers said, adding that the cases of ARIA may suggest that the drug is having an effect.

People who received higher doses of the drug also showed a reduction in amyloid plaque after 6 to 12 weeks, according to the company.

Acumen said the study suggests the drug could be administered as a monthly intravenous infusion.