Pfizer and partners pull plug on bapineuzumab for Alzheimer's after second Phase III failure

Pfizer, Janssen and Elan are to end all clinical trials with intravenous bapineuzumab in the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. The decision came after the monoclonal antibody, which targets amyloid-beta protein, did not meet the co-primary endpoints of change in cognitive and functional performance in a Janssen-led Phase III clinical trial (Study 301) with patients without the apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 (ApoE4) gene mutation.

The companies had announced on 23 July that another Janssen-led trial, Study 302 in patients who do have the ApoE4 mutation, also did not meet its primary endpoints (scripintelligence.com, 24 July 2012)