Biogen Inc (BIIB)

[XenaLives]

So the big boys have put all the eggs they have left in this basket:

We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging our two proprietary technology platforms to discover, design and develop novel, proprietary medicines for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding. We execute a clear strategy around the three pillars of Alzheimer's disease, other significant and neuro-orphan indications and diagnosis.

Our two proprietary technology platforms allow us to discover, design and develop antibodies, small molecules and vaccines. These platforms are the engines for our diverse pipeline of product candidates, which currently consists of nine therapeutic product candidates with four in clinical trials and three diagnostic candidates. Our lead product candidate is crenezumab, an anti-Abeta antibody being developed in phase 3 for Alzheimer’s disease by our collaboration partner Genentech. We believe that our multiple strategic alliances with leading industry partners like Genentech, Janssen, Piramal, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Biogen and Essex Bio-Technology provide external validation of our Company and the quality of our science.

http://ir.acimmune.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=254264&p=irol-irhome

The high risk the research company mentioned stemmed from multiple setbacks for experimental drugs targeting the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Around 200 Alzheimer's drugs have failed in clinical studies over the years, including high-profile flops for drugs developed by Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer.

A common denominator for many of these drugs was that they focused on addressing the buildup of amyloid protein deposits in brain cells. The "amyloid hypothesis" on which these therapies were based theorized that amyloid deposits cause Alzheimer's disease by disrupting the communication between brain cells, eventually leading to the death of the cells. Like many of its failed predecessors, aducanumab also targeted amyloid proteins.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apos-next-biogen-alzheimer-apos-160400031.html