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BACE Hopes Finally Fizzle As Biogen/Eisai End Elenbecestat Alzheimer's Studies

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Biogen investors cheered the end of the company’s investment in the Phase III studies due to an unfavorable risk-benefit ratio – a widely expected result for the last clinical BACE inhibitor program.

alzheimer's disease on MRI - Image
Elenbecestat was the last BACE inhibitor left in clinical trials. • Source: Shutterstock

Biogen and Eisai Co. Ltd. announced a decision on 13 September that seemed inevitable after many failures in the same drug class: the companies said they will discontinue two Phase III clinical trials (MISSION AD1 and AD2) for the beta amyloid cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitor elenbecestat in Alzheimer’s disease after a safety review by the data safety monitoring board observed an unfavorable risk-benefit ratio.

Elenbecestat (E2609) was the last BACE inhibitor in clinical development after development of 16 other candidates against this target was suspended for safety and efficacy issues, such as elevated liver enzymes and worsening cognition. These included the Novartis AG and Amgen Inc

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