CHICAGO ¨C An experimental Alzheimer¡¯s drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co. slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a late-stage trial, the company has said, providing what experts say is the strongest evidence yet that removing sticky amyloid plaques from the brain benefits patients with the fatal disease.
Lilly¡¯s drug, donanemab, met all goals of the trial, the company said Wednesday. It slowed progression of Alzheimer¡¯s by 35% compared to a placebo in 1,182 people with early-stage disease whose brains had deposits of two key Alzheimer¡¯s proteins ¡ª beta amyloid as well as intermediate levels of tau, a protein linked with disease progression and brain cell death.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer¡¯s, and that number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer¡¯s Association.
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