Banner Alzheimer's Institute News Release

In collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Banner Alzheimer's Institute (BAI), University of Antioquia in Colombia and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announce the first-ever prevention trial in cognitively healthy individuals who are destined to develop Alzheimer's disease because of their genetic history. This groundbreaking study-the first to investigate whether an anti-amyloid treatment can stave off the disease-will span two countries and help launch a new era of prevention research in the urgent fight against Alzheimer's.

The $100 million trial is the cornerstone of a new international collaborative, the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API), formed to accelerate the evaluation of promising but unproven prevention therapies. It will study an experimental anti?amyloid antibody treatment called crenezumab in approximately 300 people from an extraordinarily large extended family in Colombia, who share a rare genetic mutation that typically triggers Alzheimer’s symptoms around age 45. The trial will also include a smaller number of individuals in the United States. The API team will collaborate with researchers from the NIHsupported Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network (DIAN) to identify and recruit the U.S. participants.

Remainder of news release available at Banner Alzheimer's Institute website.

---

For more information:

”Groundbreaking $100M study aims to stop Alzheimer's before it starts,” CBS News, 05/15/2012

”Prevention is goal of Alzheimer's drug trial,” New York Times, 05/15/2012

”Trial Targets Alzheimer's Before It Strikes,” Wall Street Journal, 05/15/2012

”Banner tests experimental drug to halt Alzheimer's,” Arizona Republic, 05/15/2012

”Banner Alzheimer’s Institute launching $100M clinical trial,” Phoenix Business Journal, 05/15/2012