Key points from article :
Spinogenix has reported encouraging early results for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, tazbentetol, suggesting it could do more than just manage symptoms. In a mid-stage Phase IIa clinical trial, patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease who took the highest dose of the once-daily oral drug showed noticeable improvements in cognition within just four weeks, measured using standard memory and thinking tests. These benefits were not fleeting: they persisted over months and continued to build over time in patients who stayed on the treatment for up to 40 weeks.
Beyond cognitive tests, the drug also improved patients’ ability to carry out everyday activities and slowed overall disease progression. Brain activity measurements using EEG scans hinted at something particularly striking — signs of synaptic regeneration, meaning the drug may help restore the connections between brain cells that are lost early in Alzheimer’s. Importantly, tazbentetol was well tolerated, with no severe side effects reported, either alone or when used alongside existing Alzheimer’s medications.
These results, first presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference, have prompted Spinogenix to plan a larger, late-stage trial. The US FDA has already accepted an investigational new drug application, clearing the path toward a potentially registrational study. Company leaders say they are also exploring whether the drug could work in people at very early (preventive) stages of Alzheimer’s, as well as in more advanced disease.
If future trials confirm these findings, tazbentetol could become the first FDA-approved drug designed to regenerate synapses in Alzheimer’s, filling a major gap left by current treatments that mainly target amyloid plaques or manage symptoms. Experts note that an easy-to-use oral drug that directly improves cognition could be transformative, both for patients and for healthcare systems. Spinogenix is also testing tazbentetol in other neurological diseases, including ALS and schizophrenia, pointing to wider potential beyond Alzheimer’s.
