Neurochem to extend Alzhemed Ph III study

Canadian biotechnology company Neurochem says it will initiate an 18-month open-label extension study of its ongoing Phase III clinical assessment of Alzhemed (tramiprosate), in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. All subjects currently enrolled in the program will be given the option to continue into the extension trial, which is scheduled for the second quarter of 2006. The drug is a small, orally-administered molecule, designed to modify the course of AD by binding to soluble amyloid B peptide to reduce the level of its deposition.

The current trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 18-month Phase III clinical examination of the drug's safety and efficacy, and has enrolled 1,052 mild-to-moderate AD patients. The firm added that the drug has shown promising clinical benefits in the 338 patients who have completed 12 months of treatment so far.

Neurochem says that its ongoing European Phase III trial, which is an assessment of the compound's safety and efficacy, is progressing on schedule and will enroll 930 AD patients by the end of 2006. Subjects involved in the European program will receive either the drug or placebo in addition to any pre-existing acetylcholinesterase inhibitors they may be taking.