Alzheimer's drug shows promise in early results of study

Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer’s disease soared early Wednesday after Japan’s Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease’s progress in a late-stage study.

Eisai announced results late Tuesday from a global study of nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s.

The drugmaker said early results showed that its treatment, lecanemab, reduced patient clinical decline by 27% when compared to a placebo or fake drug after 18 months of the infused treatment. Patients were monitored using a scale that measures how they do in areas like memory, judgement, problem solving and personal care.

Eisai Co. Ltd. said it would discuss full results from the research at a conference in late November. It also plans to publish its findings in a peer-reviewed medical journal.