Baxter reveals results of Alzheimer’s treatment study

Baxter International’s Gammagard S/D and Gammagard Liquid treatments for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease helped to improve patients’ cognitive functions, while reducing or removing “building blocks” of the condition in their central nervous system, a clinical trial has found.

In a six-month, placebo-controlled study of 24 patients, Gammagard S/D and Gammagard Liquid, which are marketed as Kiovig in the European Union, were found to increase brain functions and raise patients’ awareness of change around them.

They were also found to raise the levels of antibodies against beta-amyloid, a substance thought to cause degeneration of the brain’s functions in Alzheimer’s, in the bloodstream and cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer sufferers.

According to their manufacturer, the treatments contain a “broad spectrum” of immunoglobulins, or antibodies, that enhance the immune system of patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders.

Dr Norman Relkin, the director of the memory disorders programme, an associate professor of clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and the lead research for the trial, said: “This was the first placebo-controlled clinical trial of Gammagard for Alzheimer’s disease and the results are clearly promising.”

Baxter International is an international healthcare company that employs around 46,500 people. In 2007, the company recorded total sales of $11.3 billion (5.66 billion pounds).