Alzheimer’s disease drug slows disease progression in trial

Eisai Co. and biogenic Inc. said their experimental Alzheimer’s drug significantly slowed the progression of the memory-robbing disease in a large study, bolstering the drug’s prospects for approval.

The pharmaceutical companies said their drug lecanemab reduced cognitive and functional decline by 27%, compared to a placebo, over 18 months in a phase 3 study involving 1,800 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. . The drug was also linked to higher rates of brain swelling and light bleeding, although the company said these were rarely symptomatic.