Key points from article :
Pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Biogen have said their drug lecanemab works when given in the early stages of the disease.
The drug appears to slow the pace of the brain's decline.
It removes clumps of toxic beta-amyloid proteins that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
1,795 volunteers in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease were injected with lecanemab every two weeks and their memory and mental agility were tested.
The pace of cognitive decline reduced by 27% over the course of the 18-month trial.
Biogen chief executive Michel Vounatsos said: "It gives patients and their families hope that lecanemab, if approved, can potentially slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease."
A previously announced Alzheimer's drug, aducanumab was criticized and refused to be launched.
Eisai will present the study results at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Congress (CTAD), and publish the findings in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
