Marwan Sabbagh, MD: How Aducanumab Impacts Future Studies

“The question obviously is, ‘does removing amyloid in clearance do enough?’ I don’t come away with the thought that these approaches are wrong. I just don’t know that we tested it correctly or answered it as well as we could.”

Aducanumab’s prescription drug user fee act action date of March 2021 acts as an immense weight on the Alzheimer disease (AD) community, as it aims to be the first approved drug to reduce clinical progression. Researchers truly do not know how AD research will change following an approval. Will there be an increased number of amyloid therapy drugs on the way, or will research efforts continue to be varied in nature, with blood biomarkers and lifestyle changes leading the charge?

Marwan Sabbagh, MD, feels as though there is still much work to be done with amyloid therapies, but is excited that aducanumab has “reinvigorated” the AD research community. Sabbagh, who is the director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and neurologist at Cleveland Clinic, compared treating AD to HIV, claiming that the disease can be treated at different clinical progression points.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Sabbagh explains where research efforts should turn to if aducanumab is approved, along with some of his takeaways on the current pharmacological menu of treatment options.