Investors were thrilled when Roche Holding AG subsidiary Genentech Inc. and AC Immune SA reported top-line results from the Lauriet trial on Aug. 31, giving a positive jolt to AC Immune’s stock on the day of the announcement. At the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease 2021 meeting, the reaction of the medical community was more skeptical.
DUBLIN – AC Immune SA and partner Genentech reported Aug. 31 that their Tau-targeting antibody, semorinemab, brought about a dramatic 43.6% reduction in cognitive decline vs. baseline in a phase II trial in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The effect was statistically significant (p<0.0025) and is clinically meaningful. Indeed, it represents the biggest single treatment effect ever reported in a clinical trial in this population of Alzheimer’s patients and sets the stage for an extensive phase III program that could set the agenda for Alzheimer’s research for the foreseeable future.
Nearly five months after its tau-directed antibody, semorinemab, failed to demonstrate efficacy in a phase II trial in Alzheimer’s disease, AC Immune SA is back with positive data on a different approach with its anti-phospho-tau vaccine candidate, ACI-35.030.
DUBLIN – Shares in AC Immune SA were off more than 40% Sept. 23 on news that its tau-directed antibody, semorinemab, which is partnered with Genentech, failed to demonstrate efficacy in a phase II trial in Alzheimer’s disease.
