The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of
Biogen Inc.’s
Aduhelm on Monday may have boosted the prospects of other experimental Alzheimer’s disease drugs that target the disease in a similar way.
In greenlighting Aduhelm, the FDA endorsed a hypothesis about Alzheimer’s that not long ago was thought dead: The disease can be treated by clearing the buildup of a sticky substance in the brain known as amyloid.
Many scientists studying Alzheimer’s aren’t ready to give up on the amyloid hypothesis, but there isn’t a consensus on precisely what role amyloid plays in the disease.
In approving Aduhelm, the FDA said the drug reduced amyloid and thereby likely helps Alzheimer’s patients.
The decision was cheered by many Alzheimer’s patient groups and doctors, who have lacked good options for treatment. The move was criticized, however, by many researchers who said there wasn’t enough evidence to show the drug worked and at a $56,000 yearly list price, it will be costly.
New Treatment for Alzheimer’s
Biogen’s drug Aduhelm may help slow damage to the brain caused by the degenerative disease.
How Alzheimer’s affects the brain
A prominent scientific theory holds that in Alzheimer’s disease, naturally occurring proteins bind together into clumps called amyloid plaques. The clumps build up around brain cells, disrupting their function and contributing to cognitive decline.
Aduhelm is a lab-made antibody, an immune agent that protects the body from harmful substances such as viruses and toxins. Aduhelm is modeled on antibodies taken from older people with very slow or no cognitive decline that scientists discovered are specific to amyloid.
When injected into the body, the Aduhelm antibodies latch onto amyloid clusters in the brain and clear them from the brain, though scientists aren’t sure exactly how.
Aduhelm may clear amyloid from the brain via the blood stream
It may also recruit immune cells to ingest amyloid deposits
A prominent scientific theory holds that in Alzheimer’s disease, naturally occurring proteins bind together into clumps called amyloid plaques. The clumps build up around brain cells, disrupting their function and contributing to cognitive decline.
Aduhelm is a lab-made antibody, an immune agent that protects the body from harmful substances such as viruses and toxins. Aduhelm is modeled on antibodies taken from older people with very slow or no cognitive decline that scientists discovered are specific to amyloid.
When injected into the body,…
Read More: FDA Approval of New Alzheimer’s Drug May Boost Prospects of Other