1. Scrip
  2. >>Focus On Asia
  3. >>China

Doubts Over China's First Alzheimer's Drug Resurface Amid Research Miscount Allegation

Speed Over Quality?

 
• By Brian Yang

Biogen/Eisai’s US filing of aducanumab for Alzheimer’s has a ripple effect in China, where a leading biomedical researcher has publicly questioned data for the country’s first approved drug for the disease, GV971.

Alzheimers_677117191_Atthapon-Raksthaput_1200.jpg
LEADING RESEARCHER QUESTIONS CHINA AD DRUG GV971 - 'IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FABRICATION' • Source: Shutterstock

Alleging that the research behind GV-971, China’s first approved drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is “impossible if there is no fabrication”, a leading researcher in China has raised doubts over the product via an open letter, just at the time when Biogen, Inc. has made a much-anticipated US filing for its candidate aducanumab.

The US firm, along with partner Eisai Co., Ltd., has just submitted a biologics license application for aducanumab, an amyloid-beta-clearing antibody, despite predictions from some analysts of a complete response letter requiring a third Phase III trial

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Scrip for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required
Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber?

More from China

Hengrui Set For Biggest Biopharma IPO So Far This Year

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals is gearing up for what will be 2025's biggest biopharma IPO so far, hoping to raise up to $1.27bn on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China's top drug maker by pipeline size plans to use part of the proceeds to reboot its overseas clinical trials ambitions.

China Biopharma Podcast

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan and Xu Hu

Join our China-based editors Dexter Yan and Xu Hu in this Chinese-language podcast looking at some of their recent interviews and other key coverage.

Insilico Fast-Tracks First AI-Designed TNIK Inhibitor For IPF

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

InSilico will leapfrog Phase IIb to progress its AI-generated candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis directly into a Phase III trial in China, as it prepares for an IPO in Hong Kong.

Chinese Vaccine Makers Turn To Emerging Markets

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

Chinese producers of novel vaccines are increasingly pivoting to developing markets overseas in the face of a collapse in their domestic sales.

More from Focus On Asia

UK-India FTA Could Offer ‘Significant Benefits’ For Generics, Biosimilars

 
• By Dave Wallace

A free trade agreement between the UK and India could offer “significant benefits for the generic and biosimilar sectors,” Medicines UK believes. The off-patent industry association has also suggested further avenues for collaboration between the two governments.

Cipla Leadership’s Early Take On Trump’s Pricing EO And Pipeline Progress

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

Cipla's CEO underlines that US generic prices are already “very significantly comparable” with the rest of the world and expects President Donald Trump's executive order on drug pricing to primarily impact branded pharmaceuticals. The company also shared updates on its US pipeline.

Hengrui Set For Biggest Biopharma IPO So Far This Year

 
• By Dexter Jie Yan

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals is gearing up for what will be 2025's biggest biopharma IPO so far, hoping to raise up to $1.27bn on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. China's top drug maker by pipeline size plans to use part of the proceeds to reboot its overseas clinical trials ambitions.