TOKYO - Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co. and US biopharmaceutical company Biogen Inc. said Wednesday that an Alzheimer's drug they are jointly developing has been found effective in slowing the deterioration of symptoms in a late-stage clinical trial.
Eisai plans to apply for regulatory approval of the drug, lecanemab, in Japan, the United States and Europe by the end of March 2023, Jiji Press reported.
The late-stage clinical trial was conducted on 1,795 people, it added.
The trial results showed statistically significant effects, including slowing the progression of symptoms by 27 per cent compared with patients given a placebo, according to the companies.
Aducanumab, another drug for Alzheimer's disease jointly developed by Eisai and Biogen, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in June last year. But its effectiveness has been questioned. - BERNAMA