Lilly’s Solanezumab Fails, But The Surprise Would Have Been Success

The Phase III failure of the Alzheimer’s treatment was largely expected, but is nonetheless a disappointment for the disease and for the anti-amyloid field, casting a shadow over other therapies in development, including Lilly’s own pipeline.

Eli Lilly & Co.’s high-profile anti-amyloid treatment solanezumab failed a third Phase III trial, EXPEDITION3, even though it was conducted in patients with milder Alzheimer’s disease and relied on a biomarker to test patients for amyloid. The trial failure, announced Nov. 23, was largely expected, but nonetheless casts another shadow over the field of research.

Lilly’s stock opened 15% lower at $64.34 on the news, as some investors had bought into the stock ahead of...