At the recent Clinic Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in San Francisco, Regenlife SAS presented the design for its Light4life study examining the therapeutic efficacy of the RGn600 device. This trial on more than 100 subjects will evaluate the cognitive impacts of new photobiomodulation technology. 

Mdoloris Medical Systems SAS and Pprs SAS reported a joint venture to launch ANI Guardian, a connected medical device that continuously and non-invasively tracks pain levels and well-being in a range of non-verbal or cognitively impaired people.

Two phase III failures with Roche Holding AG subsidiary Genentech Inc.’s gantenerumab in staving off mild cognitive impairment tied to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) revealed the level of amyloid-beta removal was lower than the company expected. The protein amyloid beta accumulates in the brains of AD patients and its removal is suspected to be an eventual boon to AD patients. But there are still plenty of doubts. Top-line results from Genentech’s phase III Graduate I and II studies show gantenerumab, a fully human monoclonal IgG1 antibody, missed the primary endpoints of slowing clinical decline in those with mild cognitive impairment due to AD and mild AD dementia.

The Alborada Drug Discovery Institute (ADDI) will collaborate with YD Global Life Science Co. Ltd. (YDGLS) to develop inhibitors of the unfolded protein response for the treatment of diseases that cause dementia.

Sinaptica Therapeutics Inc. received a U.S. FDA breakthrough device designation for its electromagnetic therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. Sinaptistim-AD combines neurostimulation, brain wave monitoring and artificial intelligence (AI) to address the cognitive and functional decline in patients with the neurological disorder.

Following the readout of a phase II trial evaluating its COVID-19 oral antiviral Pentarlandir (SNB-01), Taiwan’s Syneurx International Corp. said it expects to launch a phase III test of the candidate in the next few months.

Cognetivity Neurosciences Ltd. is making progress in promoting its cognitive assessment tool as the brain health equivalent of a blood pressure check, following feedback from clinicians indicating the test could have broad applicability.

Investigators at the Weizmann Institute of Science have identified changes in oligodendrocytes that were shared across multiple dementia types. The team reported its results in the June 27, 2022, online issue of Nature Neuroscience.

Mark it as a day to remember. The U.S. FDA has awarded de novo marketing authorization for the first in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), enabling diagnosis of the dreaded disease years earlier than current clinical tests. Fujirebio Diagnostics Inc.’s Lumipulse G β-Amyloid Ratio (1-42/1-40) measures specific proteins in cerebral spinal fluid to provide rapid assessment of the risk of amyloid plaques, an indicator of the disease that may develop decades before cognitive impairment occurs.

New data from two phase II studies from two companies showed progress in their respective Parkinson’s disease programs. The data for both therapies, from Anavex Life Sciences Corp. and Sage Therapeutics Inc., were presented on opening day, March 15, at the AD/PD 2022 Advances in Science & Therapy International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and Related Neurological Disorders, being held in Barcelona until March 20.