Failure to study the Pfizer drug for Alzheimer’s.
A promising drug for Alzheimer’s that the drug maker Pfizer Inc. and a partner are developing not work, according to a study, which would represent a major disappointment after the drug seemed to slow the worsening of symptoms in a previous test.
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Its partner Pfizer and Medivation Inc. on Wednesday reported that the experimental drug Dimebon did not meet its primary or secondary goals _ to improve thinking skills and brain function in daily for six months in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.
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A promising drug for Alzheimer’s that the drug maker Pfizer Inc. and a partner are developing not work, according to a study, which would represent a major disappointment after the drug seemed to slow the worsening of symptoms in a previous test.
Its partner Pfizer and Medivation Inc. on Wednesday reported that the experimental drug Dimebon did not meet its primary or secondary goals _ to improve thinking skills and brain function in daily for six months in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s.
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However, the results did not necessarily mark the end of Dimebon, one of the major projects of Pfizer, based in New York. Medivation and Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company with more income in the world, will continue three studies, which show if Dimebon may help patients in combination with other medications for the disease or used for a longer period.
Given the success of the previous study, which corresponded to an intermediate stage, some doctors thought or at least hope that Dimebon may slow or reverse this disease that impairs the mental faculties. It would have been the first drug that would do that.
“It’s a setback, because this was the drug that was closer to approval,” said Donald Petersen, chairman of the scientific and medical advisory board of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Petersen said the product could be on the market in two years, and that any other option will take longer.
The news knocked the stock prices of Medivation and Pfizer.
However, Petersen said the results are not final, since other studies continue on Dimebon.
Dr. Lynn Seely, medical director of Medivation, based in San Francisco, said, “the battle went well, but the war is not over.
So far, the four existing drugs, led by Pfizer’s Aricept, can only temporarily reduce symptoms like memory problems, confusion, aggression and a general decline in capacity. The newer drug, Namenda, was approved in 2003 at online pharmacy.
In the latest study, the final stage, involving 598 patients with a mean age of 74 years, symptoms were reduced or not those taking the Dimebon nor in those receiving placebos.
“We thought this drug to improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and stabilize over time,” said Seely. “We are very surprised by these results and analyze the data, trying to understand what went wrong”.