Flurizan Affects Alzheimers

"Drug Test Show Improvement
  in Mild Alzheimer's Cases..."

... It's true, Alzeimer's patients suffering from a mild form of the disease showed improvement after being tested with Flurizan.  Myriad Genetics.

It was announced that an analysis of data from its Phase 2 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 18. 

In the Phase 2 trial of the drug Flurizan™  a monitored group of patients with Alzheimer's disease were tested for a period of 12 months. After the 12-month period, the group of mild patients taking 800 mg twice daily showed an average decline from their baseline score at enrollment of 2.64 points on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale – Cognitive Function Subscale (ADAS-cog).

On the other hand, the group taking the placebo experienced a 3.78 point decline over the same 12 months. In the follow-on study to the Phase 2, patients on Flurizan™ for three additional months regained 0.38 points to 2.27, an improvement of 14 percent.  

After 18 months the average ADAS-cog score had further improved to 1.78 points, a total gain in cognition of 0.86 points. The exciting news is the increase in cognition upon continued treatment that amounted to a 33% improvement over the follow-on period.

Cognitive Funcitons

"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 Daniel Christensen, M.D., 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."  It is one of the leaders in the pack of new Alzheimer's disease medication.

During months zero to 12, mild patients in the 800 mg BID dose group declined by a total of 1.27 points on the test that is considered a global measure of Alzheimer's disease, Clinical Dementia Rating. Sum of Boxes (CDR-sb), for an average decline of 0.11 points per month.

This compares with patients on placebo who declined 2.09 points during this 12-month period, or 0.17 points per month. Over the six-month follow-on period, patients declined 0.05 point per month, or 0.29 points in total. These data indicated an improvement in the rate of decline during the follow-on period to less than half the rate of decline in months 0 to 12.

These same patients declined in the follow-on at a rate that was less than one third of the rate seen in the placebo group during the first 12 months.

Tested with the functional measure of Alzheimer's disease, ADCS-ADL (Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study . Activities of Daily Living), mild patients in the 800 mg BID group demonstrated a 5.4 point decline over 12 months, for a rate of 0.45 points per month. The placebo group declined 8.09 points during the same period, for a rate of 0.67 points per month. During months 12 through 18, the rate of decline in ADCS-ADL among patients on 800 mg twice-daily Flurizan™ continued at 0.47 points per month, a similarly reduced rate as seen in the first 12 months.

"The follow-on data are very encouraging to our clinical development program with Flurizan™ in mild Alzheimer's disease," said Adrian Hobden, Ph.D., President of Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "This result is consistent with the compound's mechanism of action. We look forward to completing enrollment in the Phase 3 trial in order to confirm the efficacy of Flurizan™ in a larger patient population."

About Flurizan™

Flurizan™ is the first in a new class of drug candidates known as Selective Amyloid beta-42 Lowering Agents (SALAs). Flurizan™ lowered levels of Abeta42 in cellular assays and animal models. Abeta42 is the primary constituent of senile plaque that accumulates in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

It is thought to be the key initiator of Alzheimer's disease, since Abeta42 has the greatest tendency to aggregate, cause neuronal damage and initiate amyloid deposits in the brain. Most genetic mutations that cause early-onset Alzheimer's disease appear to do so by increasing production of Abeta42. Myriad believes that Flurizan™ is the first well-tolerated drug candidate that inhibits the production of Abeta42 to be evaluated in a clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

About Myriad

Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and marketing of novel healthcare products. The Company develops and markets predictive medicine products, and is developing and intends to market therapeutic products. Myriad's news and other information are available on the Company's Web site at  myriad.com. 

Alzheimers Disease Medication

Flurizan Affects Alzheimers