Algae for Alzheimer’s?

Buying rights to a halted drug.

Read in browser

Hi, it's Amber in Hong Kong. A controversial Chinese Alzheimer's therapy is getting a new lease on life. But before we dive in… Today's must-reads US officials are going after hospitals providing gender-affirming care to minors. Moderna got funding for its bird flu vaccine trial after the Trump administration slashed grants. Trump signed an executive order easing restrictions on cannabis. Gutsy deal Developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease is a notoriously difficult task that has eluded some of the world's biggest drugmakers. So when an obscure Chinese company won local approval for its product in 2019 – the first new medicine for the memory-robbing condition in 17 years – the world took notice.  The drug's story has since taken a few turns. Despite skepticism around its efficacy, it secured reimbursement from state insurance, making it available to a broad swath of patients. Its developer, Shanghai-based Green Valley Pharmaceutical, launched a global clinical trial in an overseas push, only to shutter the study in 2022 amid Covid disruptions. This June, the company suspended production and sales after failing to renew the license for sodium oligomannate, also known as GV-971. In the latest twist, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group, part of China's pharmaceutical old guard, said this week it will acquire a controlling stake in Green Valley for 1.41 billion yuan ($200 million) and help bring sodium oligomannate back on the China market. Fosun also hinted at plans to revive the international trials Green Valley had started.  For some, it was a head-scratching move. Fosun's shares tumbled almost 10% on the surprise announcement. Chinese and international medical experts alike have raised doubts about how effective the drug really is in slowing or reversing cognitive declines. Green Valley's late-stage clinical trial had produced inconsistent results and the study was too short to be conclusive, according to critics. Its initial approval was conditional on the company providing more definitive proof, but that never materialized. Fosun, for its part, pointed to the enormous unmet clinical need. China reported almost 17 million cases of Alzheimer's and related dementia in 2021, accounting for nearly 30% of global cases, according to a report cited by the company. The public health burden is only set to increase as China's elderly population surges, and government officials have set goals to improve dementia care by 2030. "Alzheimer's disease is one of the key diseases in the national strategy to cope with population aging," Fosun Pharma Chief Executive Officer Yi Liu said in a statement. In its six years on the market, Fosun says sodium oligomannate has benefited hundreds of thousands of patients and enjoyed a strong reputation. The company will now team up with Green Valley's researchers to complete the post-marketing confirmatory studies and collect the data requested by regulators.  Even if it succeeds, Fosun will be facing a much different competitive landscape. Since 2019, Chinese regulators have greenlit new Alzheimer's therapies from Eisai and Eli Lilly. Both those drugs recently won spots on China's inaugural catalog of innovative drugs recommended for private insurance coverage – an endorsement that could broaden market access. While Eisai and Lilly's treatments target amyloid – protein clumps that clog up the brains of Alzheimer's patients – Green Valley's drug hits an unconventional biological pathway. The company claims that its seaweed-derived compound works by modifying microbes in the gut, which has long been shown to have a direct line to the brain, making it a first-of-its-kind drug. That sets Fosun's efforts up as a test not just of a single medicine, but Chinese science more broadly. "Fosun Pharma will take the baton for scientific exploration originating from China," Liu said. — Amber Tong What we're reading A researcher who promoted an unproven Covid-19 treatment is the new head of President Donald Trump's cancer panel, the Washington Post reports. Tanning bed use has been linked to a threefold increase in melanoma, USA Today reports. Want to find out where your generic drug was made? ProPublica now has a database that provides answers. Contact Prognosis Follow us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Prognosis newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, sign up here to get it in your inbox. Unsubscribe Bloomberg.com Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 |