Disappointment as Roche's new Alzheimer's drug fails to slow cognitive decline

The Alzheimer’s Society called it 'disappointing' after Roche revealed its drug gantenerumab failed to meet its primary target to slow down cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s.

The drug also removed less amyloid protein from the brain than was expected

The pharma group said two phase 3 trials of its drug gantenerumab did not slow the decline in people with early stage Alzheimer’s disease and was meant to be targeting beta amyloid, but the level of plaque clearance was lower than expected.

Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development said: “So many of our families have been directly affected by Alzheimer’s, so this news is very disappointing to deliver.

“We are profoundly grateful to the study participants, their care partners and study sites for their contributions to this research.

“While the GRADUATE results are not what we hoped, we are proud to have delivered a high quality, clear and comprehensive Alzheimer’s dataset to the field, and we look forward to sharing our learnings with the community as we continue to search for new treatments for this complex disease.”

The Alzheimer’s Society expressed disappointment at the news, with Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of Research at Alzheimer’s Society, saying “These results today are disappointing, as we don’t currently have a drug for Alzheimer’s disease in the UK which slows down its progression.”

But he remained upbeat, adding “However, this is still an exciting time for dementia research, with promising early results from a similar Alzheimer's drug, lecanemab, and 143 other drugs currently in clinical trials aiming to slow down the disease or help with symptoms.

“Alzheimer’s Society research over thirty years ago was pivotal in highlighting the importance of amyloid protein in the development of Alzheimer’s disease – laying the basis for these drugs being tested today. But it’s so important to remember we need research into other types of dementia as these drugs are only for Alzheimer’s disease.”

He also called on the government to deliver its promised National Dementia Mission to double dementia research funding.

“With 900,000 people in the UK currently living with dementia, we need a concerted effort into research for all types of dementia so one day we have treatments for everyone living with the condition.”