Merck Ends Clinical Trial of Alzheimer's Drug

   By Aisha Al-Muslim 
 

Merck & Co. (MRK) announced Tuesday it will stop a clinical trial of an experimental Alzheimer's disease drug, the latest setback in the pharmaceutical industry's quest to find a better treatment for the brain disorder.

The decision to stop the phase 3 study evaluating the drug, verubecestat, follows a recommendation by an external data-monitoring committee, which concluded that "it was unlikely that positive benefit/risk could be established if the trial continued," Merck said. The committee had assessed overall benefits and risks during a recent safety analysis, the company said.

"We are disappointed with this outcome, especially given the lack of treatment options for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease," Dr. Roger M. Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said in prepared remarks. He added, "Despite this outcome, Merck remains committed to developing novel therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases."

Last year, the biopharmaceutical company had stopped a clinical trial of verubecestat after an outside committee monitoring the study of more than 2,000 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's concluded there was "virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect." The study was testing whether verubecestat slowed declines in patients' cognition and daily functioning compared with a placebo.

Current treatments for Alzheimer's can alleviate symptoms but don't cure the condition. The dementia-causing brain disorder afflicts an estimated more than five million Americans and tens of millions globally, but has been a tough disease for the drug industry to crack because scientists don't fully understand what causes it.

Shares in Merck fell 0.4% to $54.70 in after-hours trading Tuesday. Shares are down 15% in the last year.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2018 18:01 ET (23:01 GMT)

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