ScienceDiranersen’s Alzheimer’s trial: reported slowing of decline, but a missed primary endpoint
Science reports that patients on the lowest of three doses saw the greatest benefit in a phase 2 trial of Biogen’s diranersen. Some higher-dose recipients experienced a “confusional state” lasting up to a week after treatment.
TLDR
Science reports that Biogen’s diranersen, designed to lower the body’s production of tau, was tested in more than 400 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s. On the phase 2 trial’s main measure of cognition, participants receiving the drug saw as much as a 26% slowing of decline. But the lowest of three doses showed the greatest benefit, so the trial fell short of its primary endpoint: a dose-dependent effect. Some patients in higher-dose groups also experienced a “confusional state” lasting up to a week after the drug was administered.
