Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher said the company "definitely" wonât assign major resources to developing drugs for Alzheimerâs disease as currently "itâs hard to come up with meaningful targets," Bloomberg reported Monday. "I think we have to do a lot more basic science work to understand whatâs going on," Viehbacher remarked, adding "we really, at best, partially understand the cause of the disease."
Last year, late-stage studies of Eli Lilly's solanezumab and Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson's bapineuzumab failed to meet their main goals in patients with Alzheimerâs disease. Both drugs targeted the build-up of amyloid plaques in the brain, but Viehbacher cautioned that further research needs to be undertaken before moving therapies into Phase III trials. "We start with the premise that what we know isnât adequate in describing this," he said, adding "unless weâve got better targets, weâre not really making any progress."
Viehbacher suggested that the recently launched BRAIN Initiative in the US could help in identifying ways to treat Alzheimerâs disease, as could increase collaboration across the industry. If successful, Deutsche Bank analyst Barbara Ryan has estimated that the first Alzheimerâs disease treatments would lead to a market worth $20 billion. As such, a number of companies, including Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Merck & Co., are moving ahead with developing therapies for the disease.
Merck is investigating MK-8931, which also targets the build-up of amyloid plaques, in Phase II studies, with plans to move it into late-stage studies. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly is continuing to study solanezumab and has a further agent in Phase II development.
To read more Top Story articles, click here.
About FirstWord Pharma | Refer a Colleague | Upgrade Your FirstWord Pharma | Contact FirstWord Pharma | FirstWord Reports
Advertise with FirstWord Pharma | Industry Partner Showcase
All Contents Copyright © 2019 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy