Healthy middle-aged Britons will be among the first patients in the world to trial a next-generation Alzheimer’s drug. Participants will be offered blood tests that search for biomarkers of the disease from Monday. Those whose levels of tau protein indicate they may be at high risk will be invited to join the PrevenTron study.
The new drug, trontinemab, could prove more effective than the first anti-amyloid medications proven to tackle the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s. Two similar drugs — lecanemab and donanemab — are licensed in the UK but were rejected for NHS use because their benefits were judged too small to justify their cost.
Chief investigator Professor Ramin Nilforooshan, a consultant at Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust, told The Telegraph: “For decades, research has focused on treating Alzheimer’s disease after symptoms appear. PrevenTron addresses a different question — whether we can act earlier, before symptoms begin.”
Trontinemab, made by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, combines a previously tested drug, gantenerumab, with a “shuttle” molecule that helps the antibody cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively.
Early trials have suggested trontinemab may clear amyloid protein from the brain faster than lecanemab and donanemab.
The brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease are thought to begin five to 10 years before people seek help for symptoms such as memory problems, Prof Nilforooshan said.
Stressing that the treatment was experimental, he added: “I’m not saying this trial is magic. It’s an investigational medicine. We need to wait and see: will it work or not?”
More than 15 sites across the UK are expected to join the study, including centres in Scotland and Wales.
Around 1,600 healthy adults aged between 55 and 80 are expected to take part globally. The trial is due to run for between four and six years.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 60-80% of the estimated one million cases in the UK.
People interested in being screened can contact the Surrey and Borders Partnership research team on 01372 216584 or at research@sabp.nhs.uk.
The latest hopeful news comes after a leading charity hailed a coming “golden era” of breakthroughs in dementia research.
Alzheimer’s Society told the Express last month that pioneering tests and treatments that were “unimaginable just a decade ago” are now within reach.
However, Dr Richard Oakley, the charity’s associate director of research and innovation, warned NHS patients were in danger of being left years behind as countries that take a leading role in clinical trials roll out new innovations first.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
