Pfizer Alzheimer's Drug Dimebon Fails in Study

March 03, 2010— -- Dimebon, a once-promising new Alzheimer's drug from Pfizer Inc., may be no more effective than a placebo at treating the disease, according to late-stage clinical data released by the company Wednesday.

But while this news comes as a shock to many and a disappointment to all in the Alzheimer's community, some experts say the game's not over yet for Dimebon.

"The need for new therapies is huge and we should not be daunted by a single failed trial," says Dr. Pierre Tariot, associate director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute. "The field…is littered with examples of trials that fail to show benefit even with drugs that work and are FDA approved. From my perspective, the drug needs to be studied further."

Dimebon raised hopes in the Alzheimer's community after a 2008 study of the drug in Russia suggested it was more effective than other Alzheimer's treatments on the market. As the drug has an excellent safety profile, the potential for the drug was high, says Dr. Richard Lipton, director of Montefiore Headache Center.

o when this new Dimebon study, called the CONNECTION trial, failed to reproduce the Russian results, it came as a huge letdown experts say.

"This is yet another major disappointment," says Dr. Steven Ferris, executive director of the Aging & Dementia Research Center at New York University. "Despite general skepticism about the previous Russian study, these totally negative results are very unexpected."

But other experts said the failure was no big surprise. "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," says Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, referring to the positive results found in the 2008 Russian study.

Dr. Sid Gilman, chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan, similarly expected the trial to fail, saying that the Russian study results were dubious and that "basic science underlying the function of this drug is so poor."

One leading expert in Alzheimer's -- who wished to remain anonymous -- went so far as to say that there "was never any biological plausibility for this drug" and that "it is inconceivable to me that the FDA would approve this drug."

Currently, Pfizer is running four other late stage trials of Dimebon, including one involving Huntington's disease. No announcements have been made by Pfizer as to the fate of these trials but if they are positive, the drug still may be a candidate for FDA approval.