NEW YORK (AP) ? Drug developers Pfizer Inc. and Medivation Inc. said Tuesday that they are ending development of a potential Alzheimer's disease treatment after the drug yielded disappointing results in another late-stage clinical study.
The companies said dimebon failed to achieve statistically significant improvements in cognitive ability and measurements of self care and daily functions in patients with mild-to-moderate cases of the disease. The study involved about 1,000 patients who had dimebon added to their ongoing treatment with Alzheimer's drug donepezil.
Dimebon also failed in a previous late-stage trial in 2010 as an Alzheimer's disease treatment. Pfizer, based in New York, and Medivation, headquartered in San Francisco, are ending development of dimebon, as well as their agreement to market the potential treatment.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and drugmakers are trying to find a treatment that does more than ease symptoms temporarily. Many drugs have flopped in late-stage testing in recent years, including some that seemed to clear harmful plaque from afflicted brains.
Cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to triple by 2050, to around 106 million people worldwide.
Pfizer and Medivation said last April that dimebon also failed in another late-stage clinical trial, when it did not improve symptoms of the neurologic disorder Huntington's Disease.
Pfizer is the world's largest drugmaker. Its shares rose 11 cents to $21.95 in premarket trading Tuesday, while Medivation stock dropped 98 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $54.74.
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