Antibody drug targeting early Alzheimer’s disease fails to slow clinical decline

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-11-16 09:00

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Some of the most recent drugs approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease are monoclonal antibodies which target the amyloid protein thought to be involved in the disease, but now two trials of an amyloid-targeting antibody have failed to show significant benefits, once again raising questions about the role of amyloid in the disease. The trials showed that while the drug gantenerumab led to lower levels of amyloid plaques,  it was not linked with slower clinical decline. An accompanying editorial says these trials add to the evidence of variable, small clinical effects of antiamyloid antibodies. The editorial says that depending on your perspective, the results of the antibody trials to date either reinforce confidence in this therapeutic approach and its clinical meaningfulness or support a view that the effects are small, unreliable, and barely distinguishable from no effect.