Alzheimer’s Association International Conference

Alzheimer’s’ disease

There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s is the most common. Alzheimer’s is affecting more than 35 million people worldwide, representing 60% – 70% of all dementia cases, and growing with an increasing aging population. On average, a person with Alzheimer’s lives 4 to 8 years after diagnosis, but can live as long as 20 years. The majority of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are older than 65 years.

While there is still the perception among some doctors and in the overall population that memory loss is a natural part of ageing, if it goes beyond occasional short term memory loss, it should be a cause for concern. The Alzheimer’s Association published a short article to help differentiate normal occasional memory loss from potential early signs of Alzheimer’s Disease that shouldn’t be ignored.

Positive atmosphere following recent approval of first medicine

We witnessed a positive atmosphere during the conference, owing to the recent FDA approval of Leqembi, the first medicine that has shown to slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages. As for Europe, an approval is expected early 2024.

Leqembi showed a slowdown of the decline in cognition and function of 27-37%. In addition, it was shown to maintain the health-related quality of life and reduce the burden on caregivers (23-56% reduction in score worsening). The duration of the clinical trials so far were 18 months only but studies for longer periods of treatment are ongoing.

The FDA-approval came after decades of research and failures. One has to note that even though Leqembi has shown a significant benefit, it is not the perfect medicine.

• The medicine is administered over one-hour via an intravenous infusion every two weeks.
• It displayed side effects in some patients. Therefore, all patients receiving Leqembi require brain imaging monitoring via MRI scan several times a year.

The necessary PET scan imaging for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and MRI monitoring mean that healthcare systems worldwide will need to prepare for adequate capacity. Discussions at the conference outlined some key aspects that might help in that regard:

• Blood biomarkers are studied to replace the need for a PET scan imaging.
• The MRI procedures can be shortened, allowing more patients to be scanned in a day.
• An injection formula of Leqembi is in development, which would allow a simple at-home administration and is expected to have lower rates of some side effects.

More treatments in development by other Aescap companies

Beyond Leqembi, there are numerous treatments in development that could further slowdown or halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Aescap has a position in the company marketing Leqembi as well as in additional companies developing medicines for the treatment of this disease.

Finally, as we recently outlined in our dedicated article on artificial intelligence in biotech, it was interesting to see the concrete impact of artificial intelligence on Alzheimer’s disease research throughout the conference. Artificial intelligence is notably applied to:

• Discover new biomarkers.
• Identify genes and biologic pathways contributing to Alzheimer’s disease.
• Finding medicines that can address such newly discovered disease mechanisms.

We’re enthusiastic about the number and quality of medicines in development in the Alzheimer’s disease field. We are looking forward to seeing our portfolio companies delivering Leqembi and future treatment options to patients.