Roche partner Evotec reported that their drug sembragiline failed a Phase IIB study.
Sembragiline is a MAO-B inhibitor, a class of drugs which is currently used to treat Parkinson’s disease. The drug is designed to safeguard dopamine by targeting an enzyme–monoamine oxidase type B, or MAO-B–that breaks it down. But investigators say the drug failed to demonstrate a cognitive benefit in patients after 52 weeks of therapy.
These were just headline results–no actual data were included in the statement from Evotec. The German biotech added that Roche plans to consider secondary endpoints in the study as it ponders all of its options.
Roche’s R&D team took a nasty hit with the failure late last year of gantenerumab, an antibody aimed at toxic clusters of amyloid beta. The drug flopped against a placebo in Phase III, putting this program on a likely path to extinction. But then Biogen Idec reported an early-stage success with its amyloid program, inspiring some renewed hope at Roche as they consider whether to put their treatment back into the clinic.
Roche has taken several shots at Alzheimer’s. The pharma giant is also pursuing studies of crenezumab, which showed mixed results in a mid-stage trial a year ago. And Roche isn’t alone in the losers box. Eli Lilly and J&J led the two pioneering Phase III studies for solanezumab and bapineuzumab, with their failures spurring considerable debate over investigators’ still limited understanding of the memory-stealing disease that afflicts millions.
Source: Fiercebiotech