A good post from Derek Low In the Pipeline reporting on interview of Mark Smith, Case Western, in Forbes. Dr. Smith is a long time opponent of the theory that amyloid is a cause of Alzheimer's disease. He has long argued that amyloid is actually a sign of the brain trying to protect itself and that therapies geared toward removing amyloid will actually make things worse.
The recent Lilly trial seems to add some marks to his side of the ledger. Of course, several other anti-amyloid drugs (gamma secretase inhibitors) are being tested by major pharma companies as we speak in Phase II trials. We shall see if these trials bear similar results to that experienced by Lilly.
In the meantime, Dr. Smith predicts the field will stick with apporaches aimed at reducing amyloid until more patients are treated with other modalities not aimed at reducing amyloid plaques.
Posted by Bruce Lehr August 24th 2010.
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