Axovant Sciences' Alzheimer's Disease Trial Comes Up Empty -- What Now?

Axovant Sciences' Alzheimer's Disease Trial Comes Up Empty -- What Now?

Historically, 99% of Alzheimer's disease drugs to enter clinical trials have failed, yet Axovant Sciences (NASDAQ: AXON) believed it could design a phase 3 trial for its Alzheimer's disease drug, intepirdine, that could overcome those stiff odds. Sadly, Axovant Sciences' announced Tuesday morning that intepirdine, its lead product candidate, failed across the board to beat a placebo, delivering yet another setback to progress toward tackling this disease.

Axovant Sciences' intepirdine targets the 5HT6 receptor to stimulate the production of acetycholine, a neurotransmitter that sends signals between nerve cells. Because acetycholine is important to cognitive function, boosting it via the 5HT6 receptor has long been a goal of Alzheimer's disease researchers.

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Source: Fool.com