Pharmaceutical partners Wyeth and Elan Corp. said Tuesday results from a highly anticipated midstage study of their experimental Alzheimer's disease drug bapineuzumab show the treatment appears to be effective in some patients.
Bapineuzumab didn't show a statistically significant difference compared with placebo in all patients, but the companies said it suggested a trend toward improving cognitive function.
Bapineuzumab is designed to work by attacking a substance in the brain called beta-amyloid. There is a growing scientific consensus that a buildup of beta-amyloid is responsible for Alzheimer's.
