Myriad’s Alzheimer’s treatment improves cognition

The company’s phase II follow-on study of Flurizan in patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease showed that study participants improved as a group, regaining cognitive ability from months 12 through to 18.

The trial was designed to monitor patients with Alzheimer’s disease for a period of 12 months. At the end of that period, the group of patients taking 800 mg twice daily showed an average decline from their baseline score at enrollment of 2.64 points on a disease assessment scale designed to measure cognitive functioning in Alzheimer’s. In contrast, a placebo group experienced a 3.78 point decline over the same 12 months.

In the follow-on to the study, patients on Flurizan for three additional months regained 0.38 points to 2.27, an improvement of 14%, and by 18 months the average score had further improved to 1.78 points, a total gain in cognition of 0.86 points. These data demonstrate an increase in cognition upon continued treatment that amounted to a 33% improvement over the follow-on period.

“The 18 month follow-on data are striking in that Flurizan treated patients appear to be regaining cognitive functions like memory and thinking ability that they had previously lost to the disease,” said Dr Daniel Christensen, clinical professor of neurology, psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Utah. “This is a truly exciting finding in the development of a potential future treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”