Lilly Alzheimer’s Setback Threatens Rivals’ Prospects
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Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and a half dozen competitors are committed to a research strategy for Alzheimer’s disease that has resulted in a string of study failures, the most recent involving Eli Lilly & Co.
A dozen potential products designed to slow or stop clumps of protein from forming in the brain, a condition linked to the disease since 1906, have failed in mid- to late-stage testing since 2003. The experimental drug from Lilly, semagacestat, didn’t improve cognition in a study and worsened the ability of patients to perform daily activities, the Indianapolis-based company said yesterday.