US pharma giant Eli Lilly stated that, as per the results of the phase-3 trial, their experimental Alzheimers medicine delayed clinical deterioration by 35% in the treatment group in comparison to the placebo. They also stated that the drug reduced the decline in the ability to conduct activities of daily living by 40%.

The investigational drug, donanemab, which is given intravenously once a month, works by eliminating amyloid plaque buildup in the brain, which is a characteristic of Alzheimers disease. In the study, nearly 47% of the participants in the donanemab group showed no decline in a key measure of disease severity in comparison to 29% of placebo participants at the one-year mark.

However, the company stated that it has to be noted that 52% of participants discontinued treatment after one year and 72% after 18 months as donanemab reduced amyloid levels. They also added that they also enrolled a small group of people with high levels of tau, which represented a later stage of disease progression.

The findings of the trial showed that the group with intermediate tau levels, whose condition had not advanced as far, had a 35% decrease in cognitive and functional deterioration. When this intermediate group was combined with the group with higher tau levels, the overall decrease in cognitive and functional deterioration was reported as 22%.

The investigational drug was reported as the cause of some side effects and three fatalities in the study. Out of the three fatalities, two were attributed to adverse events such as brain swelling or microhemorrhages, known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA. 

(Source:https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/lilly-drug-slows-alzheimers-progression-by-35-trial-2023-05-03/ )