Drug is 'best chance' for Alzheimer's

BIOTECHNOLOGY:A PARTNER of Irish biotech firm Elan has issued a bullish outlook for the group's most advanced Alzheimer's disease drug candidate.

Pfizer research chief Mikael Dolsten said the experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s, bapineuzumab, was the drug industry’s “best chance” to delay progression of the illness.

Mr Dolsten, speaking at the Bio CEO and Investor Conference in New York, stopped short of predicting whether the drug would meet that goal.

“This is so far the best chance the industry has for disease modification in Alzheimer’s,” he said.

His comments come months before critical phase III trial data for the drug is due to be published.

The development of bapineuzumab was originally a joint venture between Elan and Wyeth.

Pfizer became involved when it acquired Wyeth. For its part, Elan gave fractionally more than half its share in the drug to Johnson Johnson in a 2009 deal in which the US giant paid $1 billion (€760 million) for an 18.4 per cent stake in Elan.

But bapineuzumab remains important for Elan’s future as it will receive roughly a quarter of any profits from its use.

The Irish firm has refused to comment on the drug’s prospects ahead of the trial data.