For those who might have missed it, here is the full article from down under. I bolded some of the key points which I found different than in previous company PR's or comments from those associated with the story. The statements from Dr.McF appear to me more assertive (less legally cautious) than they, Anavex and the lead researcher, have previously made.
Obviously there are not gurantees but approval to proceed with this phase of the trials is a giant step in the right direction. Results do not need to be perfect for A-273 to become the new SOC for AD, but, as many of the science savy posters here have been telling us about, also likely to become the magic pill to be used as a profilactic and treatment for many other neroulogical disorders.
As a human being, I hope this comes to fruition for the health benefit of us all. As an investor, I am betting big on riping the rewards of being early to the table to what could become the Amazon of bio investmens.
GLTA longs. For those on the other side, it is still time to change your position and join the winning team. We welcome you.
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ALZHEIMER’S DRUG HOPE
Local Alzheimer’s trial
Herald Sun4 Jul 2018BRIGID O’CONNELL brigid.oconnell@news.com.au VISIT anavexaustralia.com PHONE (02) 8437 7355
VICTORIAN Alzheimer’s sufferers will be hand-picked to trial an experimental drug that has already “woken up” some patients with dementia.
Genetic testing will be used to select 450 people to trial the drug, Anavex 2-73, which has led to dramatic improvements patients.
GENETIC testing will be used to select Victorian Alzheimer’s disease sufferers to take an experimental drug that has already “woken up” some patients with dementia.
The Melbourne-led international trial will give the drug, Anavex 2-73, to 450 patients who have the disease in a mild to moderate form and who are believed likely to best respond to the treatment.
The cognition of most of the 32 patients who took part in the most recent trial of the drug remained stable, when it had been expected to decline.
But there were dramatic improvements in the mood and memory of a group of six “super responders”, some of whom were able to play the piano or take up golf again, or resume painting.
At their request, the drug trial was extended for a further two years.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Steve Macfarlane, of HammondCare’s Dementia Centre, said the pharmaceutical company that made Anavex 2-73 had spent the past year working out why some people had a better response to the drug.
He said genetic analysis predicted that patients who received a higher dose and who had a particular common gene variant would respond well.
“The big change, since a lot of Alzheimer’s trials have failed, is that the industry has started to look at subgroups of people with Alzheimer’s,” Prof Macfarlane said.
“They all have the build-up of the two proteins, amyloid and tau (that are associated with the disease).
“But there is lots of variation in the inflammation, disruption to the waste cells functions and calcium imbalance.
“Recruiting the right people into the right trial for a particular drug is going to be more and more important, and that’s the step we’re taking with this current trial.”
Associate Prof Macfarlane said it was believed the drug, which is about to be tested in Parkinson's patients with dementia, worked not only by removing the build-up of abnormal proteins but by addressing other damaging processes in the brain.
“It doesn’t buy into the old argument, that has been around in the field (of research into Alzheimer’s disease) for years, as to whether it’s the amyloid or the tau that’s the cause,” he said.
If the latest drug trial is successful, researchers say it would lead the case for the treatment’s approval by the US drug agency, which could then lead to its being approved for use worldwide.
