Biogen's Alzheimer's drug yields 'exciting' mid-stage results

Biogen’s shares soared on Friday after the company announced that one of the experimental Alzheimer’s drugs it had developed with Japan's Eisai had succeeded in a mid-stage clinical trial.

The Nasdaq 100-listed firm said a phase II study of the medicine, code-named BAN2401, resulted in the cognitive abilities of patients on a very high dose of the drug declining at a slower rate than those taking a placebo.

Alfred Sandrock, executive vice president and chief medical officer at Biogen, said: "The prospect of being able to offer meaningful disease-modifying therapies to individuals suffering from this terrible disease is both exciting and humbling."

Furthermore, brain scans of patients showed that the drug appeared to reduce the amount of beta amyloid, a plaque-like substance that some scientists think is to blame for Alzheimer’s, in the brain.

The theory has lost a little credibility over recent years after a number of drug trials that targeted beta amyloid failed.

Jeff Cummings, founding director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, said: "The 18-month results of the BAN2401 trial are impressive and provide important support for the amyloid hypothesis. I look forward to seeing the full data set shared with the broader Alzheimer's community as we advance against this devastating disease."

Eisai, who have collaborated on the development of the drug, are a major Japanese pharmaceutical group involved in the R&D, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of pharmaceutical goods.

Full results of the study, which lasted 18 months, will be released at a later date.

Similarly, the company did not give details of the upcoming phase III trials, which represent the final stage of clinical testing before a medicine is approved.

"These BAN2401 18-month data offer important insights in the investigation of potential treatment options for patients with Alzheimer's disease and underscores that neurodegenerative diseases may not be as intractable as they once seemed," said Sandrock.

As of 1450 BST, Biogen’s shares were up 20.11% at $358.90.