New drug shows ‘game-changing’ potential to halt Alzheimer’s progression

An Alzheimer’s treatment that works three times faster than existing drugs is being hailed a breakthrough, as Australia-US pricing tensions threaten access to similar therapies.

A new Alzheimer’s drug has been hailed as a major breakthrough after clinical trials showed it could clear the harmful brain plaques linked to the disease in just 28 weeks — far faster than any current licensed treatment.

The drug, called Trontinemab, removed amyloid plaques in nine out of 10 patients, with researchers describing the results as “game-changing”.

The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto and have sparked hopes the medication could one day be used to prevent symptoms from developing at all.

Trontinemab works by rapidly clearing amyloid — the sticky protein linked to Alzheimer’s — from the brain, and does so with fewer side effects than earlier drugs, according to phase two trial data.

Unlike earlier drugs — Lecanemab and Donanemab, which take 18 months to achieve moderate plaque reduction — Trontinemab achieved more in less than seven months.

The drug, called Trontinemab, removed amyloid plaques in nine out of 10 patients, with researchers describing the results as “game-changing”.

A major 18-month trial involving 1600 participants is now under way to determine if these biological effects lead to improvements in memory and day-to-day functioning.

Experts say the drug has been specially engineered to cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively, delivering strong effects at lower doses — with less than five per cent of participants experiencing any imaging abnormalities, all of which quickly resolved.

“This is absolutely great news. It sucks the plaque out of the brain really quickly, much faster than we have seen with Lecanemab or Donanemab,” Prof Sir John Hardy, chair of molecular biology of neurological disease at University College London’s Institute of Neurology, told The Telegraph in the UK.

“There is no doubt this could be game-changing. We hope that if we can use these drugs to people early, we can halt the progression of disease, even before people have symptoms. Now we need to see the size of the clinical effect.”

While Trontinemab is still in clinical trials, it’s part of a growing global effort to improve and accelerate dementia treatment.

Unlike earlier drugs — Lecanemab and Donanemab, which take 18 months to achieve moderate plaque reduction — Trontinemab achieved more in less than seven months.

In Australia, a separate drug — Donanemab — has already been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and is now being considered for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

But Health Minister Mark Butler has warned that global drug pricing tensions, particularly out of the US, could complicate access to new medicines like Donanemab.

In an interview with ABC’s 7.30, Mr Butler was asked whether President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on pharmaceutical pricing might affect whether Australia could secure new Alzheimer’s drugs at an affordable price.

“We’re still a little unclear about what the US administration has in mind for pharmaceuticals,” he said.

“Early last week there was a, there was a view from the administration that they’d make a decision over the coming 12 to 24 months about potential tariffs not just on Australia, but on the rest of the world.

“Then in the middle of last week, the President said it might be towards the end of this month.

However, Mr Butler said the government is pressing ahead with its own plans to list new medicines and lower costs for consumers.

“That drug you’re talking at, Donanemab, is really exciting in a space, the dementia space, that has not seen any really successful drug innovations in 40 years since we first discovered the role of the amyloid protein on the brain in driving Alzheimers,” he said.

Health Minister Mark Butler has warned that global drug pricing tensions, particularly out of the US, could complicate access to new medicines like Donanemab.

“So, it’s already been approved by the TGA. It’s being considered by our PBS experts I think at this month’s meeting, we’ll hear more about that in coming weeks when they publicise their decisions.”

Asked if Mr Trump’s order could allow US pharmaceutical companies to refuse Australia’s negotiated price, Mr Butler said international manufacturers have long pushed for higher profits — but it was the government’s responsibility to hold firm.

“US manufacturers, European manufacturers, they want bigger profits for their drugs that they sell all around the world, including in Australia. I mean that’s not new. It didn’t come along with President Trump,” he said.

“Twenty years ago John Howard was dealing with this issue in negotiating the US free trade agreement. I mean, our job is to use our buying power as a federal government, other countries do this as well, to negotiate the best possible price for medicines for taxpayers here in the country.

“We’ve been doing that; I get that US big pharma want to make more profits from their products. My job is to get the best possible price and then lower that price for Australian consumers.”

More than one million people in the UK and hundreds of thousands of Australians are living with dementia, with Alzheimer’s the most common form.

Experts believe Trontinemab and similar drugs could usher in a new era of earlier and more effective treatment — if cost and access barriers can be overcome.

Originally published as New drug shows ‘game-changing’ potential to halt Alzheimer’s progression