With the approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab), the first new Alzheimer’s treatment in decades, people affected by dementia were given new hope that a breakthrough had finally arrived.
A year later, the product is yet to gain traction in the USA, the only country to have approved it, and developers Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Eisai (TYO: 4523) have been forced to rely on confirmatory trials to open up reimbursement - results from which are not expected for some time.
Despite the setbacks, the US Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval for the amyloid beta-targeting antibody has reignited interest in a therapy area which major drug developers have stepped back from in recent years.
One company, Prothena (Nasdaq: PRTX), is developing antibodies targeting both Abeta as well as the tau protein, and has an intriguing Alzheimer’s vaccine, dubbed PRX123, which is yet to enter the clinic but which scientists believe could stop the development of both of these proteins in the brain.
Discussing the firm’s progress in episode 14 of The Pharma Letter Podcast is chief executive Gene Kinney.