Eli Lilly has shared full data from a phase 2 clinical trial it hailed as showing a “significant slowing of decline” in Alzheimer’s disease patients. The donanemab data are a mixed bag, with a slight win on one disease scale undermined by a failure on a more widely used measure of Alzheimer’s.
In January, Lilly revealed donanemab, formerly known as LY3002813, improved a composite measure of cognition and daily function in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s. The finding, in a field defined by repeated failures, was a rare glimmer of hope and offered encouragement for people who take a positive view of Biogen’s similar drug candidate aducanumab.