Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai is developing an Alzheimer's disease treatment that it hopes to release in the United States by 2030, according to a report by Nikkei Asia.
Nikkei Asia reports that small-scale clinical trials are underway to confirm the safety of the drug candidate, which targets tau proteins. Such drugs, though difficult to develop, are expected to be highly effective if successful.
What are tau proteins?
Tau is a protein that helps stabilize the internal skeleton of nerve cells in the brain (neurons). This internal skeleton has a tube-like shape through which nutrients and other essential substances travel to reach different parts of the neuron. In Alzheimer’s disease, an abnormal form of tau builds up and causes the internal skeleton to fall apart.
According to Nikkei Asia, Eisai has developed a drug candidate that would capture tau proteins while its spreads other cells. The company confirmed its effectiveness in animal experiments and has begun clinical trials in humans.
The race for the cure
The field of tau-targeting drugs is competitive. Biogen and Bristol-Myers Squibb in the United States have begun the second of three phases of clinical trials. Johnson & Johnson, which is teaming with AC Immune of Switzerland, said in January that it had begun a Phase 2 clinical trial with a dementia vaccine targeting tau proteins.
Eisai has started first- and second-phase clinical trials in the United States and Europe. Joint global clinical trials led by research institutes are also underway in Japan, the United States, and Europe for patients with genetic predispositions.
Eisai aims to file for approval in the United States first. If approved there, the drug maker intends to commercialize the product in Japan, Europe, Asia and other regions.
Currently, more than 55 million people worldwide are reported to have Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
