By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Biogen announced the completion of its regulatory filing to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on aducanumab for the treatment of dementia and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's. If approved, aducanumab would become the first therapy to reduce the cognitive and functional decline of people living with the disease.
"This will actually be the first therapy to reduce the cognitive and functional decline for people living with Alzheimer's, said Breana Tucker, Central & Western Kansas Chapter Program Director and Region 6 Research Champion. "It's actually the first drug to demonstrate that removing amyloid-beta resulted in better clinical outcomes."
The number of people in the United States living with Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia, is expected to triple to nearly 14 million by 2050 without effective treatments, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Right now, we have invested over $185 million in research, providing for 540 different projects in 30 different countries," Tucker said. "We are leaving no stone unturned trying to combat this disease from all different angles."
The Alzheimer’s Association directly funds science and unites the scientific academic, government and industry leaders worldwide to accelerate research.
"In the trial, it did show improvement for mild cognitive impairment, which is the stage before Alzheimer's disease," Tucker said. "Everybody that has Alzheimer's disease passes through the mild cognitive impairment. If we catch these cases early in that mild cognitive impairment, we could potentially continue to reduce the cases of Alzheimer's disease."
Alzheimer’s and other dementias are complex, and their effective treatment and prevention will likely also be a complex task, but the Alzheimer’s Association believes it can be achieved.