Existing drugs such as Aricept merely improve symptoms temporarily without slowing brain cell death.
These "cholinesterase inhibitors" include tacrine (Cognex), donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Razadyne, formerly called Reminyl).
CNN: Better understanding of dementia leading to more effective therapies
Under the NICE guidelines, patients can only be prescribed Aricept if they have been tested at a memory clinic.
He is determined his wife will remain on Aricept even if the NHS continues to refuse to fund her treatment.
The deal makes sense for Pfizer, since it already co-markets the popular Alzheimer's drug Aricept, whose U.S. patents expire in 2010.
Exelon and Aricept, which was invented by Eisai , a Japanese drug firm, have both helped patients who are afflicted with severe dementia.
Medivation says it is testing whether Dimebon can be safely combined with Aricept, with an aim toward beginning a combination efficacy trial in the future.
Black participated in a study of Aricept in patients with severe Alzheimer's that was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Meanwhile, in just a few months, Novartis' drug for Alzheimer's disease, Exelon, has captured 27% of the new prescriptions in a market dominated by Pfizer's Aricept.
He said the company was interested in the drug because it seems work via a different mechanism than Aricept, even though exactly how it works is unclear.
Eisai and Pfizer, who produce donepezil, also known as Aricept, have also asked "fully transparent working version of the calculations used in the cost effectiveness model for independent evaluation and comment".
Aricept, made by Eisai, of Japan, is another cholinesterase inhibitor.
Patrick Griffith, a neurologist at the Morehose School of Medicine, conducted a trial of Aricept, the Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) Alzheimer's medicine, in African-Americans.
In both that study of Aricept, presented a week ago, and a study of Exelon presented last year, the drugs helped reduce problematic behaviors in Alzheimer's patients, with few side effects.
In April, a study appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine showing that patients on Aricept and memantine had a less steep decline on cognitive tests than those on Aricept alone.
Patrick Griffith, a neurologist at the Morehose School of Medicine, conducted a trial of Aricept, the Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) and Eisai Alzheimer's medicine, in African-Americans.
At the very least, the drug is in the hands of top-flight researchers, including Dr. Lawrence Friedhoff , who oversaw the development of the world's most prescribed Alzheimer's treatment, Aricept, while at Japanese drugmaker Eisai .
The companies decided to end the program for developing the compound, called Dimebon, after it failed to meet two primary endpoints in a phase 3 trial studying its use with the existing treatment Aricept in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's.
WSJ: Medivation, Pfizer Alzheimer's Drug Fails to Meet Study Goals
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