RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- (Marketwire) -- 07/20/09 -- As is often the case, recent news regarding potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease contains both promise and disappointment.

The International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) draws attention to the leading science behind the fight against the disease. A major announcement preceded the conference, held in Vienna, Austria, on July 11-16. Johnson & Johnson announced its plans to inject a total of $1.5 billion into the cash-strapped Irish biotech Elan. In exchange, J&J will receive an 18.4% equity stake in Elan and some licensing rights to its Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program (AIP Program).

The most promising Alzheimer's treatment in Elan's AIP Program is bapineuzumab. According to Cutting Edge Information's "Neurodegenerative Market Forecast to 2013," bapineuzumab could hit the market as early as 2011 and become the highest-grossing Alzheimer's drug, potentially earning $3.4 billion by 2015. The drug is aimed at reducing the amyloid beta plaques that build in the brain, which in turn should slow the cognitive degeneration produced by the disease.

"Drugs targeting amyloid proteins are of major interest to the Alzheimer's community," says Jeremy Spivey, the report's lead author. "If any one of these drugs turns out to be effective and doesn't cause serious side effects, it will easily become a blockbuster."

Another asset included in the AIP Program is Elan's developmental vaccine for Alzheimer's, AAC-001. Cutting Edge Information analysts project that AAC-001, currently in Phase II trials, will not hit the market until 2012 but could potentially bring in $400 million per year by 2015. Also targeting amyloid proteins, AAC-001 uses a similar method to fight Alzheimer's as bapineuzumab.

Other news was not as promising. Michael Gold, GlaxoSmithKline's vice president of neurosciences and speaker at the ICAD, delivered some unfavorable trial results regarding the blockbuster diabetes drug Avandia as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. In a six-month head-to-head trial with Eisai's Aricept, Avandia failed to meet cognitive and behavioral endpoints.

Scientists have been considering the idea that improved sugar levels in the brain could benefit patients with Alzheimer's, but these trial results may have dealt a major blow to that theory. Meanwhile, Avandia misses another opportunity to expand its list of approved indications and bolster its diabetes sales.

To learn more about commercial and developmental treatments for Alzheimer's disease, download a complimentary report brochure.

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