Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
On The Backs Of Devastating Failures, Biotech Pins Hopes On New Alzheimer's Drug
Stat: Biotech's Next Alzheimer's Test May Answer '$25 Billion Question'
Moving on from biopharma’s latest setback in Alzheimer’s disease — and the four that preceded it last year — the industry is turning its attention to a tiny pill made by a small company with hopes to succeed where so many have failed. In the third quarter of this year, Axovant Sciences will release Phase 3 data that will determine whether its drug, intepirdine, can improve cognition and function in patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer’s. Axovant’s readout will follow an outright failure from Merck, disappointing results from Eli Lilly, and a vexing setback for TauRx. (Garde, 2/22)
In other news —
The New York Times: Prolonged Sleep May Be Early Warning Sign Of Dementia
Older adults who started sleeping more than nine hours a night — but had not previously slept so much — were at more than double the risk of developing dementia a decade later than those who slept nine hours or less, researchers report. The increased risk was not seen in people who had always slept more than nine hours. (Rabin, 2/22)
California Healthline: Alzheimer’s Looms Large For Latinos
The number of Alzheimer’s cases in the United States is rising, especially among Latinos — the fastest growing minority in the country. With no cure in sight, diagnoses among U.S. Latinos are expected to increase more than eightfold by 2060, to 3.5 million, according to a report by the University of Southern California’s Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging and the Latinos Against Alzheimer’s network. (de Marco, 2/23)
