Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Failure ‘Heartbreaking’

Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly announced in November 2016 that its trial of a drug known as solanezumab failed to live up to its hoped for promise of slowing the progression of memory loss and confused thinking. 

The clinical trial began after solanezumab had already been shown to be ineffective against mild or moderate Alzheimer’s disease in two other large clinical trials that concluded in 2012. Those results, however, suggested that the drug might aid people who had mild symptoms.

In the New York Times coverage of the news (read: Eli Lilly’s Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Fails in Large Trial) Eli Lilly’s President and CEO Dave Ricks called the setback ‘heartbreaking.’