A daily pill which could be the first to slow Alzheimer’s disease is being considered for use on the NHS.
Officials are assessing whether hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) shows sufficient promise to be given the green light for NHS patients.
The drug attacks a protein called tau which accumulates in tangles in the brain, affecting memory and cognition.
Taken as a tablet, it would not require the complex infusions needed for other recent breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatments.
Early trial data suggests it can slow progression of the disease with regulators set to make a decision as soon as April.
If approved, it would mark the biggest milestone for the disease in decades, bringing hope to millions worldwide.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is set to affect more than a million Britons by the middle of this century.
But there is growing hope the NHS must get ready for a future where it is treatable and even curable.
A daily pill which could be the first to slow Alzheimer’s disease is being considered for use on the NHS (stock image)
Officials are assessing whether hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) shows sufficient promise to be given the green light for NHS patients (stock image)
Developed by Aberdeen-based TauRX, early trials suggested the medication leads to sustained cognitive improvement at an early, clinically detectable stage of Alzheimer’s.
The experimental compound belongs to a class of drugs known as tau aggregation inhibitors, which is hoped can undo the tangles, slowing and potentially altogether stopping memory loss.
Former NHS clinical director for dementia and emeritus professor at the University of Manchester, Professor Alistair Burns, said it was potentially ‘great news for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their families and carers’.
‘We have reached an exciting time in the field of Alzheimer’s disease treatment,’ he told the Telegraph.
‘After no new therapies for a generation, we are on the threshold of having a range of new treatments, including a tau-targeted oral therapy, which have the real potential to slow the disease process.’
The decision will follow the mixed fortunes of two breakthrough drugs for Alzheimer’s drugs – Lecanemab and Donanemab – having with UK regulators.
Despite both being given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), hope was quickly extinguished when health spending watchdog National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) found they were not value for money for the NHS.
Some experts question the potential benefits of HMTM, with the latest data yet to be peer-reviewed.
Findings presented at the Alzheimer’s Disease International conference this year showed little or no benefit over placebo on memory and cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
But the company said it was due to the unexpected effects of the placebo and is understood to be offering further evidence and results.
The drug also appears to have a better safety profile than others coming through, suggesting it is less likely to cause adverse side effects.
Dr Richard Oakley, the associate director of research and innovation at the charity Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Although the placebo was expected to have no effect at the dose it was given, it built up in participants’ bodies over time.
‘However, HMTM did reduce the levels of a marker of brain cell loss.’
He added: ‘In a small subset of participants with mild cognitive impairment who have features of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, HMTM seemed to have a beneficial effect.’
The MHRA, NICE and TauRX were all approached for comment.
