Virginia-based biopharmaceutical company Acumen Pharmaceuticals announced on Sunday that its experimental drug for Alzheimer’s disease, ACI193, has successfully passed an initial safety test.
The drug will now proceed to a larger trial, according to the company. During the first trial, ACI193 demonstrated good tolerability among participants, with no significant adverse effects reported, Acumen Pharmaceuticals stated.
The results of the randomized, placebo-controlled study, which involved 62 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Amsterdam this week.
The mechanism of ACI193 is similar to that of the recently approved drug Leqembi, developed by Biogen and Eisai.
During the Acumen trial, 10.4% of the treated participants (five people) developed a condition called ARIA-E (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with edema), which involves brain swelling associated with treatments that target amyloid.
However, only one person experienced symptoms, and they resolved after discontinuing the drug. Additionally, 8.3% of the participants developed brain bleeding known as ARIA-H (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with hemorrhage) associated with the treatment.
Eric Siemers, Chief Medical Officer of Acumen, explained that since ACI193 specifically targets oligomers and not plaques, the occurrence of ARIA cases suggests that the drug may be having an effect on its intended target.
The advancement of ACI193 to a larger trial is an encouraging development in the search for effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
While further research is necessary to evaluate its safety and efficacy on a larger scale, the initial results are promising and raise hopes for potential future treatment options for individuals affected by this devastating neurological disorder.
