Scientists Have Made A Major Breakthrough: Alzheimer’s Disease Might Have Proper Medication in 2023

By Aqasha Nalani  •  02 Jun 2022 in News

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If you’re a movie lover and a pop-culture enthusiast, chances are you have heard of Alzheimer’s.

There are several popular movies that depicted the illness like The Notebook in which Allie spends the rest of her life in a nursing home as audiences see that she cannot recall the nuances of her previous love.

Popular Korean film A Moment to Remember showed the sickness in its most realistic form. Even to the point when Su-jin couldn’t feel herself peeing because of Alzheimer’s, everything she went through was 100% factual.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain ailment that gradually damages memory and cognitive abilities, as well as the capacity to do the most basic activities.

Most people with the condition—those with late-onset symptoms—have symptoms in their mid-60s.

However, there are cases where a patient develops the illness in their early 30s. This is known as  “Early-onset Alzheimer’s” and is extremely rare.

The movie A Moment to Remember was so tear-jerking because Su-jin developed the illness in her 30s right after she was married to the love of her life. We witnessed how the sickness steadily destroyed her and couldn’t help but sympathise with her situation.

The movie was based on a true story.

Back in 2016, the Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation Malaysia suspected around 50,000 Malaysians were suffering from this ailment. This figure is expected to climb to 261,000 by 2030 and 590,000 by 2050.

Since the illness was discovered back in 1906, there has been no medication that could help cure the ailment.

A Breakthrough in Science

TauRx Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the worldwide leader in tau-based Alzheimer’s research, revealed the unblinding of preliminary results from the randomised component of its pivotal Phase III study, LUCIDITY.

The company’s principal investigational oral medication, hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM), has been evaluated in 598 Alzheimer’s patients.

Professor Claude Wischik, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of TauRx, said, “The output indicates that participants receiving HMTM decline at a rate substantially less than is typical in Alzheimer’s based on published research. This was seen for both cognitive and functional endpoints across a broad range of severity from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to moderate Alzheimer’s. Importantly, the safety profile is favourable and consistent with previous studies.

“Our data analysis is ongoing and will be reported at a later date. We look forward to providing an update on our progress on June 9, 2022 at the 35th Global Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International.”

TauRx is confident that it can now go forward with regulatory filing and acquiring coverage for HMTM.

“Today, with limited treatments for Alzheimer’s, the standard of care does not impact the underlying causes of symptom progression. HMTM aims to significantly slow disease progression, providing longer term benefits compared to medications brought to market almost 20 years ago.” Professor Wischik added.

If this medication shows positive effects, patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s can expect to get the medication as early as 2023.

Interestingly, Genting has observed a 20.3% increase in investor interest after the announcement was made by TauRx .

“Assuming a valuation range of US$700mil-2.5bil, Genting’s 20.3% stake could be worth 16-58 sen per share, representing a 3-9% enhancement to our current target price,” said RHB.

Genting’s sum-of-parts value does not include TauRx at this time, according to the research company, since further clarification on its valuations is needed.