Takeda and Zinfandel launch Alzheimer’s drug trial

Takeda and Zinfandel Pharmaceuticals have announced the launch of Tomorrow, a phase III trial involving patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The study has two purposes, the first of which will be to assess a genetics-based biomarker risk assignment algorithm to predict risk of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease within a five-year period.

It will also evaluate the efficacy of the investigational low-dose therapy pioglitazone – also known as AD-4833 – in delaying the onset of cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's in cognitively normal individuals who have been identified as being at high risk using the new algorithm.

Dr Stephen Brannan, central nervous system development therapeutic area head at Takeda, said: "Tomorrow is a significant study and represents a novel clinical milestone and trial for the Alzheimer's community, as it evaluates pre-symptomatic patients."

This comes after the companies reported data last month from a performance characteristics trial of the genetics-based biomarker risk assignment algorithm, showing that its performance compared favourably with imaging and cerebrospinal fluid-based biomarkers.