STAT+: Pharmalittle: Detailed data on Alzheimer’s drug hold up to scrutiny; Horizon in takeover talks with three pharma giants

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A closely watched new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease held up to scrutiny in a detailed scientific presentation, as Eisai and Biogen begin the lengthy process of turning the medicine into what they hope could be a groundbreaking therapy, STAT writes. The drug, lecanemab, slowed cognitive and functional decline in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s by 27% relative to placebo in a roughly 2,000-volunteer clinical trial. The drug also dramatically reduced levels of beta-amyloid, a toxic protein in the brain thought to advance Alzheimer’s. Experts said the data helped dispel concerns that lecanemab’s success, first disclosed in a September press release, was a mirage.

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