The Road to Precision Medicine in Alzheimer Disease Through Biomarkers: Hans J. Moebius, MD, PhD

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

"Our data analysis shows moderate to strong correlations between biomarkers and clinical endpoints, providing credible and sound results for Alzheimer disease research."

Although Alzheimer disease (AD) is a complex condition and influenced by multiple factors, research has focused predominantly on amyloid-ß and tau therapies. However, there is a growing recognition of the necessity for alternative treatments for patients. For example, one therapy currently being investigated is fosgonimeton (Athira Pharma), a small-molecule positive modulator of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET system. In a recent post-hoc analysis on fosgonimeton, findings suggest that improvements in plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation correlate with improvements of cognition and function among treated patients living with mild-to-moderate AD.¹

Hans J. Moebius, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Athira Pharma, presented the findings at the 2023 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, July 16 to 20, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The analysis comprised of data from the randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 ACT-AD study (NCT04491006) and the open-label extension study (NCT04886063). Results showed significant correlations with improvements in Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale and both change from baseline in neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein concentrations. Notably, the change from the double-blind period baseline in NfL concentrations also significantly correlated with improvements in Mini-Mental State Examination scores at the transition to the open label extension study.²

Recently, Moebius sat down in an interview with NeurologyLive® during the meeting to provide further insights on the research that was presented. He talked about how biomarkers are revolutionizing AD research and are enabling precision medicine. He also spoke about the key findings from the exploratory phase 2 trial, and how the results relate to ongoing phase 2/3 trial. In addition, Hans shared his thoughts on the future implications of these biomarker correlations in the development of targeted therapies for AD.

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REFERENCES
1. Moebius HJ, Ooi KC, Hale MD, et al. Biomarker analyses from the phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled ACT-AD and open-label extension clinical trials of fosgonimeton in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Presented at: 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference; July 16 to July 20; Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Abstract 79759.
2. Athira Pharma Presents Phase 2 Clinical Data Correlating Improvements in Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration and Neuroinflammation with Improvements in Measures of Cognition and Function in Alzheimer’s Disease. News Release. Published July 17, 2023. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://investors.athira.com/news-releases/news-release-details/athira-pharma-presents-phase-2-clinical-data-correlating