Eisai’s new data provide insight into how to get the most out of anti-amyloid mAbs
Three-year Leqembi readout in tau subgroup may be most impressive amyloid mAb data to date
It’s early days for precision medicine in neuroscience, but in Alzheimer’s disease, biomarkers that can identify a patient’s stage of disease are indicating the huge value they might bring. New data for Leqembi lecanemab from Eisai using tau PET imaging show that in certain early-stage patients, anti-amyloid therapy can not just slow but reverse cognitive decline, for at least three years. The ability to identify super-responders helps counter the narrative that the antibody has only modest efficacy.
The data are arguably the most striking efficacy results from an amyloid mAb to date, with a very meaningful benefit for patients, albeit in a small, though well-defined, population of patients with no or very little tau pathology in the brain. These findings should put to rest any lingering questions about whether targeting amyloid can be effective. ...