BackgroundOur objective was to evaluate the efficacy (clinical and biomarker) and safety of intravenous bapineuzumab in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD).MethodsTwo of four phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 18-month trials were conducted globally: one in apolipoprotein E ε4 carriers and another in noncarriers. Patients received bapineuzumab 0.5 mg/kg (both trials) or 1.0 mg/kg (noncarrier trial) or placebo every 13 weeks. Coprimary endpoints were change from baseline to week 78 on the 11-item Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive subscale and the Disability Assessment for Dementia.ResultsA total of 683 and 329 patients completed the current carrier and noncarrier trials, respectively, which were terminated prematurely owing to lack of efficacy in the two other phase 3 trials of bapineuzumab in AD. The current trials showed no significant difference between bapineuzumab and placebo for the coprimary endpoints and no effect of bapineuzumab on amyloid load or cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau. (Both measures were stable over time in the placebo group.) Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with edema or effusion were confirmed as the most notable adverse event.ConclusionsThese phase 3 global trials confirmed lack of efficacy of bapineuzumab at tested doses on clinical endpoints in patients with mild to moderate AD. Some differences in the biomarker results were seen compared with the other phase 3 bapineuzumab trials. No unexpected adverse events were observed.Trial registrationNoncarriers (3000) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00667810; registered 24 Apr 2008.Carriers (3001) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00676143; registered 2 May 2008.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13195-016-0189-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ClinicalTrials identifier: NCT00788944.

BackgroundThis double-blind, randomized, 78-week study evaluated the efficacy, safety, immunogenicity, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of PF-06410293, a candidate adalimumab biosimilar, versus adalimumab reference product (Humira®) sourced from the EU (adalimumab-EU) in biologic-naïve patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) despite methotrexate (MTX) (10–25 mg/week). We report results for the first 26 weeks of treatment.MethodsPatients with active RA (N = 597) were randomly assigned (1:1) to PF-06410293 or adalimumab-EU, while continuing with MTX treatment. The primary endpoint was American College of Rheumatology 20% improvement (ACR20) at week 12. Therapeutic equivalence was concluded if the two-sided 95% confidence interval (CI) for the ACR20 difference between the two arms was entirely contained within the symmetric equivalence margin (±14%). Additionally, a two-sided 90% CI was calculated by using an asymmetric equivalence margin (−12%, 15%). Secondary efficacy endpoints to week 26 included ACR20/50/70, change from baseline Disease Activity Score based on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [DAS28–4(CRP)], European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response, DAS28–4(CRP) of less than 2.6, and ACR/EULAR remission. QuantiFERON-TB testing was performed at screening and week 26.ResultsPatients (78.7% of whom were female and whose mean age was 52.5 years) had a mean baseline RA duration of 6.8 years. The mean baseline DAS28–4(CRP) values were 5.9 (PF-06410293) and 6.1 (adalimumab-EU). The observed week-12 ACR20 values were 68.7% (PF-06410293) and 72.7% (adalimumab-EU) in the intention-to-treat population. With non-responder imputation, the treatment difference in week-12 ACR20 was −2.98% and corresponding CIs—95% CI (−10.38%, 4.44%) and 90% CI (−9.25%, 3.28%)—were entirely contained within the equivalence margins (symmetric and asymmetric, respectively). The secondary efficacy endpoints were similar between arms. Over 26 weeks, injection-site reactions occurred in 1.7% versus 2.0%, hypersensitivity events in 4.4% versus 8.4%, pneumonia in 0.7% versus 2.0%, and opportunistic infections in 2.4% versus 1.7% in the PF-06410293 and adalimumab-EU arms, respectively. One death due to myocardial infarction occurred (adalimumab-EU arm). Rates of anti-drug antibody incidence were 44.4% (PF-06410293) and 50.5% (adalimumab-EU).ConclusionsThe study results demonstrate that efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of PF-06410293 and adalimumab-EU were similar during the first 26 weeks of treatment in patients with active RA on background MTX.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02480153. First posted on June 24, 2015; EU Clinical Trials Register EudraCT number: 2014-000352-29. Start date: October 27, 2014.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13075-018-1676-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

As the societal and economic burdens of Alzheimer's disease (AD) continue to mount, so does the need for therapies that slow the progression of the illness. Beta amyloid has long been recognized as the pathologic hallmark of AD, and the past decade has seen significant progress in the development of various immunotherapeutic approaches targeting beta amyloid. This paper reviews active and passive approaches aimed at beta amyloid, with a focus on clinical trial data.

Venlafaxine treatment in EMs was associated with greater efficacy in MDD on virtually all measures compared with PMs, with no important tolerability differences.