Multiple-dose ponezumab for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease: Safety and efficacy

Introduction: Multiple intravenous doses of ponezumab, an anti-amyloid antibody, were evaluated in subjects with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: In part A, 77 subjects were randomized to ponezumab 0.1, 0.5, or 1 mg/kg (75 treated) and 26 to placebo (24 treated). In part B, 63 subjects were randomized and treated with ponezumab 3 or 8.5 mg/kg and 32 with placebo. Subjects received 10 infusions over 18 months and were followed for 6 months thereafter.

Results: Ponezumab was generally safe and well tolerated. Most common adverse events were fall (16.7% ponezumab, 21.4% placebo), headache (13.8%, 21.4%), and cerebral microhemorrhage (13.8%, 19.6%). Plasma ponezumab increased dose-dependently with limited accumulation. Cerebrospinal fluid penetration was low. Plasma Aβ_1-x and Aβ_1-40 showed robust increases, but cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers showed no dose response. Ponezumab had no effects on cognitive/functional outcomes or brain volume.

Conclusions: Multiple-dose ponezumab was generally safe, but not efficacious, in mild-to-moderate AD.