Memory Pharmaceuticals commences Alzheimer’s trial

The trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and cognitive effects of three doses of MEM 3454 in subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. The trial will enroll approximately 80 subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease at multiple sites in the US. Subjects will be randomized to receive 5 mg, 15 mg or 50 mg of MEM 3454 or placebo once daily for a period of eight weeks.

“MEM 3454 showed promising cognitive effects in its phase I clinical trial and we're excited about evaluating its efficacy in a disease setting,” said Stephen Murray, vice president of clinical development.

“We now have two drug candidates, with two distinct mechanisms of action, in clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and we expect to report top-line results from both trials in the fourth quarter of this year.”

Under the terms of the company's nicotinic alpha-7 agonist collaboration with Roche, Memory leads the development of MEM 3454 through phase IIa clinical trials, and following the completion of these trials, Roche has the right to obtain an exclusive license to MEM 3454. Roche maintains this right through the development process by making payments to Memory Pharmaceuticals upon its achievement of certain predefined development milestones.