{"id":212316,"date":"2018-02-14T18:40:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T18:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/merck-pulls-promising-late-stage-drug-trial\/"},"modified":"2018-02-14T18:40:46","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T18:40:46","slug":"merck-pulls-promising-late-stage-drug-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/merck-pulls-promising-late-stage-drug-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Merck pulls promising late-stage drug trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"mol-bullets-with-font\">\n<li class=\"\"><b>Merck  Co Inc has been testing Verubecestat to treat dementia for years<\/b><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><b>Last year, they ended a trial of the drug in late-stage patients but continued with early- and mid-stage sufferers\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><b>On Tuesday, the firm was forced to shut the trial as it &#8216;won&#8217;t work&#8217;<\/b><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><b>It dealt a blow to many other pharmaceutical companies who are betting big on this inhibitor\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li class=\"\"><b>But this morning, Cleveland Clinic scientists published a paper showing the same drug eradicated Alzheimer&#8217;s in early-stage mice\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"author-section byline-plain\">By<\/p>\n<p>Mia De Graaf Health Editor For Dailymail.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"byline-section\"><span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-published\"><br \/>\n  <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Published:<\/span><br \/>\n  12:16 EST, 14 February 2018<br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n | <span class=\"article-timestamp article-timestamp-updated\"><br \/>\n  <span class=\"article-timestamp-label\">Updated:<\/span><br \/>\n  12:17 EST, 14 February 2018<br \/>\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"share-facebook\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-twitter\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-pinterest\"><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-gplus\">\n      <span class=\"g-interactivepost\"><br \/>\n        <a><\/a><br \/>\n      <\/span>\n        <\/li>\n<li class=\"share-email\">\n<p>                <span class=\"wai\">e-mail<\/span><br \/>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/li>\n<li class=\"share-icons\" id=\"shareLinkTop\">\n            <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"count-number\">\n<p class=\"count-text\">View <br \/> comments<\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The most promising clinical trial for an Alzheimer&#8217;s drug has been pulled as a review showed it is unlikely to work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Merck  Co Inc was widely tipped to be a frontrunner in the global race to find a treatment for the incurable neurodegenerative disease &#8211; and in doing so, earn billions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But the once-exciting trial has slowly spluttered to a halt: the firm shelved a similar trial of the same drug Verubecestat in late-stage patients last year, but had hoped it could work in early or mid-stage sufferers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">On Tuesday, executives were forced to admit defeat, dealing an ominous forewarning to the four other major pharmaceutical companies which have bet big on this inhibitor, BACE1, to treat the disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">However, hours after Merck announced the end of the trial, a team at Cleveland Clinic published a surprising study which found BACE1 inhibitors not only treated Alzheimer&#8217;s but completely eliminated it in mice with early stages of the disease.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-14934e6a82793de4\" src=\"image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Merck was tipped to be a frontrunner in the global race to find a treatment for the incurable disease - and in doing so, earn billions. But Tuesday's statement suggests otherwise\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-14934e6a82793de4\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2018\/02\/14\/17\/4936D0D600000578-5391877-image-a-9_1518628566074.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Merck was tipped to be a frontrunner in the global race to find a treatment for the incurable disease - and in doing so, earn billions. But Tuesday's statement suggests otherwise\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Merck was tipped to be a frontrunner in the global race to find a treatment for the incurable disease &#8211; and in doing so, earn billions. But Tuesday&#8217;s statement suggests otherwise<\/p>\n<ul class=\"rotator-panels link-bogr1 linkro-ccox\">\n<li>\n<p>  <span>Scientists REVERSE Alzheimer&#8217;s in middle-aged mice: Top&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>  <span>Screening for &#8216;silent killer&#8217; ovarian cancer is NOT&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"mol-factbox-title\">Scientists REVERSE Alzheimer&#8217;s in middle-aged mice using the same drug as Merck\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">A team at Cleveland Clinic published a paper showing they had successfully reversed Alzheimer&#8217;s in a middle-aged lab mouse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Their trial used a BACE1 inhibitor, essentially the same method as Merck&#8217;s, in a similar aged subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">They claim their tests on a 20-month-old mouse &#8211; equivalent to a 50-year-old human &#8211; show it could be possible to halt the disease if it is caught decades earlier than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Lead author Riqiang Yan admitted he was &#8216;shocked&#8217; when their attempts to reduce amyloid plaque in mice completely eradicated the dangerous build-ups that slowly cripple the brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Already aware of the Merck failure, Yan told Daily Mail Online last night that he still believes BACE1 is the answer to preventing and treating Alzheimer&#8217;s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Yan envisions a future when these enzymes, known as BACE1 inhibitors, could be available as a vitamin that all humans take preventatively to stave off neurodegenerative disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Verubecestat belongs to a class of experimental Alzheimer&#8217;s drugs called BACE1 inhibitors that target an enzyme involved in the formation of the toxic amyloid protein that turns into plaques in the brains of Alzheimer&#8217;s patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">In Merck&#8217;s trial,\u00a0patients were given either a placebo, or 12mg or 40mg of verubecestat, once a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">There have been a number of high-profile failures in Alzheimer&#8217;s drug development in recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Pfizer Inc said last month that it was abandoning research to find new drugs aimed at treating Alzheimer&#8217;s and Parkinson&#8217;s disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Lilly previously endured multiple failures with its solanezumab, which also targets beta amyloid, but in a different way.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">In the most recent setback, Lilly said that drug failed to slow declines in mental capacity of patients with even mild symptoms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Roche did away with BACE1 inhibitors in 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Others are still clinging on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Biogen and Eisai are also in advanced clinical trials testing a similar but subtly different BACE inhibitor &#8211; E2609 &#8211; in early-stage patients.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Meanwhile,\u00a0Amgen and Novartis are testing a BACE inhibitor known as\u00a0CNP520, which they are testing on people at-risk of Alzheimer&#8217;s, to see if it could work preventatively.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">There was one ringing endorsement this morning for BACE1 as a prospect to tackle Alzheimer&#8217;s: a team at Cleveland Clinic published a paper showing they had successfully reversed Alzheimer&#8217;s in a middle-aged lab mouse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Their trial used a BACE1 inhibitor, essentially the same method as Merck&#8217;s, in a similar aged subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">They claim their tests on a 20-month-old mouse &#8211; equivalent to a 50-year-old human &#8211; show it could be possible to halt the disease if it is caught decades earlier than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Lead author Riqiang Yan admitted he was &#8216;shocked&#8217; when their attempts to reduce amyloid plaque in mice completely eradicated the dangerous build-ups that slowly cripple the brain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Already aware of the Merck failure, Yan told Daily Mail Online last night that he still believes BACE1 is the answer to preventing and treating Alzheimer&#8217;s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Yan envisions a future when these enzymes, known as BACE1 inhibitors, could be available as a vitamin that all humans take preventatively to stave off neurodegenerative disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;We were surprised it worked so well, we saw complete reversal,&#8217; Yan, who will start as chair of the department of neuroscience at the University of Connecticut this spring, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;To our knowledge, this is the first observation of such a dramatic reversal of amyloid deposition in any study of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease mouse models.&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>            <!-- ad: http:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v3\/us\/health\/none\/article\/other\/inread_player.html --><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"social-links-title\">Share or comment on this article<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"bigLinks sc-icns cleared\">\n<li class=\"share-facebook\">\n<p>                                    <span class=\"wai\">e-mail<\/span><br \/>\n                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<li class=\"share-icons\" id=\"shareLinkBottom\">\n<p>                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<li id=\"addCommentButton\" class=\"add-comment\">\n<p>                                <\/a>\n                            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"rotator-panels\">\n<li class=\"new shallow-ac mini link-bogr6 linkro-wocc\">  <span class=\"wocc bdrcc\"> Bill Murray praises Republican tax cuts as he attacks&#8230; 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Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Merck Co Inc has been testing Verubecestat to treat dementia for years Last year, they ended a trial of the drug in late-stage patients but continued with early- and mid-stage sufferers\u00a0 On Tuesday, the firm was forced to shut the trial as it &#8216;won&#8217;t work&#8217; It dealt a blow to many other pharmaceutical companies who <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/merck-pulls-promising-late-stage-drug-trial\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}