Alzheimer’s is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and the only disease among the top 5 for which there is no treatment. Prospects got even bleaker this week when an Eli Lilly & Co. experimental drug failed.
Still, researchers and investors alike are urging the industry not to give up. And pharmaceutical companies, even those that had pulled out of the search for a treatment in the past, are responding with a renewed commitment — for now.
“It’s so important for scientists to continue to push through this,” said Rita Balice-Gordon, the recently arrived head of neuroscience at Sanofi. “I’m committed to beating the drum for doing well-reasoned and well-researched clinical experiments, which will help drive the field collectively forward.”
Alzheimer’s research has already consumed more than $3 billion in spending over 27 years at Lilly alone, and the failure of its solanezumab treatment sent shares tumbling on Wednesday. Lilly’s drug didn’t slow their inexorable mental decline, adding to growing evidence that finding a way to treat the leading cause of dementia in the world may be even more herculean than experts expected.