APOLLOE4 Phase 3 Trial Subjects Who Completed
78 Weeks of Treatment Offered Enrollment in Long-Term Extension
Study to Provide Insights into Effect of ALZ-801 on Disease
Progression and Additional Safety and Tolerability Data
Phase 2 Biomarker Trial Subjects Who Completed
156 Weeks of Treatment Offered Enrollment in 52-Week Extension to
Support Biomarker-Enabled Indication Expansion to Two Thirds of all
AD Patients Carrying APOE4 Gene
Array of Cutting-Edge Fluid and Imaging
Biomarkers Deployed to Assess Impact of ALZ-801 Tablet on
Alzheimer’s Pathology
Fully Enrolled Pivotal APOLLOE4 Phase 3 Trial
in Early Alzheimer’s Disease Patients on Track for Topline Data
Readout and Initiation of NDA Submission in 2024
Alzheon, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
developing a broad portfolio of product candidates and diagnostic
assays for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and
other neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the dosing of
the first patient in a long-term extension of the ongoing pivotal
APOLLOE4 Phase 3 trial of 265 mg oral tablet of
ALZ-801/valiltramiprosate, administered twice daily, in Early AD
subjects carrying two copies of the ε4 allele of the apolipoprotein
E gene (APOE4/4 homozygotes). Early AD includes patients with mild
cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI) and mild AD.
ALZ-801/valiltramiprosate is an investigational oral
disease-modifying therapy in Phase 3 development for the treatment
of Early AD. In mechanism of action studies, ALZ-801 fully blocked
the formation of neurotoxic soluble beta amyloid oligomers at the
Phase 3 clinical dose. Oral ALZ-801 has shown both potential for
robust clinical efficacy in the highest-risk and most fragile
late-onset Alzheimer’s population – patients with two copies of the
apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE4/4 homozygotes), and favorable
safety with no increased risk of vasogenic brain edema. This
population is the focus of Alzheon’s pivotal 78-week APOLLOE4 Phase
3 trial, which is now fully enrolled with topline data expected in
the third quarter of 2024.
“At Alzheon, we always put patients first, so we are pleased to
offer subjects in our Alzheimer’s studies who have completed the
APOLLOE4 Phase 3 trial or the Phase 2 biomarker trial an option to
continue ALZ-801 treatment for an extended period of time,” said
Susan Abushakra, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Alzheon. “Alzheimer’s
disease is a devastating, fatal illness with limited treatment
options, especially for patients with APOE4 genotype, and we
recognize the urgent need to provide continued access to ALZ-801
therapy. We are grateful to subjects who have participated in our
clinical trials and look forward to generating additional insights
into ALZ-801's effects from these long-term extension studies.”
The long-term open label extension of the APOLLOE4 Phase 3 trial
will continue to evaluate safety and efficacy of ALZ-801 tablet in
APOE4/4 homozygous subjects with Early AD. Participants in the
APOLLOE4 Phase 3 trial who completed Week 78 of the study and who
are still eligible, are offered enrollment in the long-term
extension and will be treated with ALZ-801 for 52 weeks, followed
by a four-week safety visit after the last dose of ALZ-801. The
primary objective of the APOLLOE4 trial is to measure the impact of
ALZ-801 on cognition using the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale
– cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). Secondary endpoints include
assessments of function, ability to perform daily activities, and
neuropsychiatric symptoms. The study will also evaluate ALZ-801’s
effects on fluid and imaging biomarkers shown to be sensitive early
markers of AD progression and neuroinflammation.
“We look forward to the topline data from the 78-week,
randomized, placebo-controlled portion of the APOLLOE4 Phase 3
trial in the second half of this year. We have designed this
confirmatory study in an unprecedented way by applying a
precision-medicine approach, focusing initially on the high-risk
patients with the APOE4/4 genotype, and incorporating
state-of-the-art fluid and imaging biomarkers,” said Aidan Power,
MB, MSc, MRCPsych, Chief Development Officer of Alzheon. “Following
the completion of the trial, participants who choose to continue
into the long-term extension where all subjects receive active
treatment, will help us evaluate long-term effects of
ALZ-801/valiltramiprosate on the progression of Alzheimer’s
disease, as well as generate additional safety and tolerability
data.”
The Phase 2 biomarker trial in Early AD subjects who have the
APOE4/4 or APOE3/4 genotype and test positive for amyloid and tau
biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was designed as a 104-week
study, where all subjects receive active treatment of 265 mg oral
tablet of ALZ-801, administered twice daily. The objective of the
trial is to assess the effects on leading-edge CSF and plasma
biomarkers, as well as volumetric magnetic resonance imaging
evaluating brain atrophy, shown to be sensitive early markers of AD
progression. The study’s primary outcome was achieved, showing
statistically significant 31% reduction from baseline of plasma
p-tau181 at 104 weeks. A 52-week long-term extension was initiated
last year, and now an additional 52-week extension is enrolling
subjects. In addition to safety, assessments of plasma biomarkers
hippocampal volume, cortical thickness, and cognitive effects will
be performed at Week 156 and Week 208 in the long-term extension
phase.
“The Phase 2 biomarker trial generated compelling data
demonstrating that treatment with oral ALZ-801 leads to a sustained
reduction in p-tau181, a key measure of brain neurodegeneration, as
well as slowing of hippocampal atrophy compared to a matched
external control arm, and stabilization of cognition for two
years,” said John Hey, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Alzheon.
“Given these encouraging results, we are compelled to extend the
trial for an additional year, bringing the treatment period to four
years for these patients. We believe this extension phase will
offer meaningful insights into the correlation of fluid and imaging
biomarkers with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, help
evaluate disease modifying effects of ALZ-801 tablet and provide
further evidence for expanding our treatment to APOE4 carriers
representing 65-70% of Alzheimer’s patients in a planned Phase 3
trial.”
About ALZ-801 ALZ-801/valiltramiprosate is a potential
first-in-class, investigational oral disease-modifying therapy in
Phase 3 development for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease.
In mechanism-of-action studies, ALZ-801 fully blocked the formation
of neurotoxic soluble beta amyloid (Aβ) oligomers at the Phase 3
clinical dose. ALZ-801 has shown potential for robust clinical
efficacy in the highest-risk AD population – patients with two
copies of the apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE4/4 homozygotes), and
favorable safety with no increased risk of brain vasogenic edema.
This population is the focus of Alzheon’s pivotal Phase 3 APOLLOE4
trial, which is now fully enrolled and will be completed in
mid-2024.
ALZ-801 Phase 2 Biomarker Trial Biomarker Effects of
ALZ-801 in APOE4 Carriers With Early Alzheimer's Disease
(NCT04693520): This ongoing trial was designed to evaluate the
effects of 265 mg twice daily oral dose of ALZ-801 on biomarkers of
AD pathology in subjects with Early AD, who have either the APOE4/4
or APOE3/4 genotype and constitute 65-70% of Alzheimer's patients.
The trial also included evaluation of clinical efficacy, safety,
tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of ALZ-801 over 104 weeks
of treatment. An ongoing long-term extension of the trial evaluates
ALZ-801 for an additional 104 weeks of treatment for a total of 208
weeks.
ALZ-801 APOLLOE4 Phase 3 Trial An Efficacy and Safety
Study of ALZ-801 in APOE4/4 Early Alzheimer's Disease Subjects
(NCT04770220): This ongoing trial is designed to evaluate the
efficacy, safety, biomarker and imaging effects of 265 mg twice
daily oral dose of ALZ-801 in Early AD subjects with two copies of
the apolipoprotein ε4 allele (APOE4/4 homozygotes), who constitute
approximately 15% of Alzheimer's patients. This is a double-blind,
randomized trial comparing oral ALZ-801 to placebo treatment over
78 weeks. The APOLLOE4 trial is supported by a $51 million grant
from the National Institute on Aging. An ongoing long-term
extension of the trial evaluates ALZ-801 for an additional 52 weeks
of treatment for a total of 130 weeks.
About Alzheon Alzheon, Inc. is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing a broad portfolio of product
candidates and diagnostic assays for patients suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. We are
committed to developing innovative medicines by directly addressing
the underlying pathology of neurodegeneration. Our lead Alzheimer’s
clinical candidate, ALZ-801/valiltramiprosate, is a first-in-class
oral agent in Phase 3 development as a potentially disease
modifying treatment for AD. ALZ-801 is an oral small molecule that
has been observed to fully block the formation of neurotoxic
soluble amyloid oligomers in preclinical tests. Our clinical
expertise and technology platform are focused on developing drug
candidates and diagnostic assays using a precision medicine
approach based on individual genetic and biomarker information to
advance therapies with the greatest impact for patients.
Alzheon Scientific Publications 1 Tolar M, et al: The
Single Toxin Origin of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other
Neurodegenerative Disorders Enables Targeted Approach to Treatment
and Prevention, International Journal of Molecular Sciences,
2024; 25, 2727. 2 Tolar M, et al: Neurotoxic Soluble Amyloid
Oligomers Drive Alzheimer’s Pathogenesis and Represent a Clinically
Validated Target for Slowing Disease Progression, International
Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021; 22, 6355. 3 Abushakra S,
et al: APOE ε4/ε4 Homozygotes with Early Alzheimer’s Disease Show
Accelerated Hippocampal Atrophy and Cortical Thinning that
Correlates with Cognitive Decline, Alzheimer’s &
Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical
Interventions, 2020; 6: e12117. 4 Tolar M, et al: Aducanumab,
Gantenerumab, BAN2401, and ALZ-801—the First Wave of
Amyloid-Targeting Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease with Potential for
Near Term Approval, Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy,
2020; 12: 95. 5 Tolar M, et al: The Path Forward in Alzheimer’s
Disease Therapeutics: Reevaluating the Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis,
Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 2019; 1-8. 6 Hey JA, et al:
Discovery and Identification of an Endogenous Metabolite of
Tramiprosate and Its Prodrug ALZ-801 that Inhibits Beta Amyloid
Oligomer Formation in the Human Brain, CNS Drugs, 2018;
32(9): 849-861. 7 Hey JA, et al: Clinical Pharmacokinetics and
Safety of ALZ-801, a Novel Prodrug of Tramiprosate in Development
for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, Clinical
Pharmacokinetics, 2018; 57(3): 315–333. 8 Abushakra S, et al:
Clinical Effects of Tramiprosate in APOE4/4 Homozygous Patients
with Mild Alzheimer’s Disease Suggest Disease Modification
Potential, Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease,
2017; 4(3): 149-156. 9 Kocis P, et al: Elucidating the Aβ42
Anti-Aggregation Mechanism of Action of Tramiprosate in Alzheimer’s
Disease: Integrating Molecular Analytical Methods, Pharmacokinetic
and Clinical Data, CNS Drugs, 2017; 31(6): 495-509. 10
Abushakra S, et al: Clinical Benefits of Tramiprosate in
Alzheimer’s Disease Are Associated with Higher Number of APOE4
Alleles: The “APOE4 Gene-Dose Effect,” Journal of Prevention of
Alzheimer’s Disease, 2016; 3(4): 219-228.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240430939765/en/
Media Contact Glenn E. Pauly, Alzheon, Inc. 508.861.7709
media@alzheon.com
Investor Contact Ken Mace, Alzheon, Inc. 508.861.7709
investor@alzheon.com