The NHS is considering the use of a daily pill which could be the first to curb Alzheimer’s disease.
Officials are assessing whether hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) is promising enough to be given the green light for NHS patients.
The drug attacks a protein called tau that accumulates in tangles in the brain, affecting memory and cognition.
Taken in tablet form, it would not require the complex infusions necessary for other recent Alzheimer’s treatments.
Early data from trials suggest it may slow the progression of the disease and regulators will make a decision in April.
If approved, it would mark the biggest milestone for the disease in decades and bring hope to millions of people around the world.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and is expected to affect more than a million Britons by the middle of this century.
But there is growing hope that the NHS must prepare for a future where it is treatable and even curable.
The NHS is considering the use of a daily pill that could be the first to stop Alzheimer’s disease (file image)
Officials are assessing whether hydromethylthionine mesylate (HMTM) is promising enough to be given the green light for NHS patients (file image)
Developed by Aberdeen-based TauRX, early trials suggested the drug leads to sustained cognitive improvement in an early, clinically detectable stage of Alzheimer’s.
The experimental compound belongs to a class of drugs known as tau aggregation inhibitors, which are expected to undo the tangles, slow down and potentially completely stop memory loss.
Former NHS clinical director of dementia and emeritus professor at the University of Manchester, Professor Alistair Burns, said it was potentially “great news for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their families and carers”.
“We have reached an exciting time in the field of treating Alzheimer’s disease,” he told the Telegraph.
“After a generation without new therapies, we are on the threshold of having a range of new treatments, including an oral therapy targeting tau, which has the real potential to slow the disease process.”
The decision follows the uneven fate of two innovative Alzheimer’s drugs, Lecanemab and Donanemab, with UK regulators.
Despite both receiving the green light from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), hope was quickly extinguished when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the health spending watchdog, found that they were not profitable for the NHS.
Some experts question the potential benefits of HMTM, and the most recent data has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Findings presented at this year’s international conference on Alzheimer’s disease showed little or no benefit over placebo on memory and cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
But the company said it was due to unexpected placebo effects and is understood to offer more evidence and results.
The drug also appears to have a better safety profile than others, suggesting that it is less likely to cause adverse side effects.
Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society charity, said: “Although the placebo was expected to have no effect at the dose it was given, over time it built up in the participants’ bodies. “.
“However, HMTM reduced levels of a marker of brain cell loss.”
He added: “In a small subset of participants with mild cognitive impairment who had features of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, HMTM appeared to have a beneficial effect.”
The MHRA, NICE and TauRX have been contacted for comment.