An experimental Alzheimer’s drug from Eli Lilly & Co. helped patients in a small trial, the company said Monday, renewing hopes that researchers are shutting down therapies that could fight the disease.
The drug slowed memory decline and the ability to perform activities of daily living by 32% after 18 months among people who received therapy compared to people who received a placebo, Lilly said.
According to the company, Lilly’s drug, called donanemab, met the main goal of the study: a milestone that one experimental drug against Alzheimer’s has achieved after another.
“It’s a great time for Alzheimer’s patients. There is hope again, ”said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific officer.
Shares of Lilly rose more than 10% in early trading on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Lilly gave only the highlights of the study results, saying the details would follow at a medical meeting and in a peer-reviewed journal article.