Clinicians from Switzerland are urging caution when prescribing an anti-amyloid medication in a patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD) also taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant.

A new immunotherapy candidate has demonstrated a trend for slowing cognitive decline in mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD), potentially offering a more accessible and cost-effective alternative to other immunotherapies.

With three positive and three negative Phase 3 trials of second-generation anti-amyloid antibodies to draw upon, Alzheimerologists now have more data to mine for what works and what does not. At last month’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam, scientists pored over gantenerumab and lecanemab data, hunting for clues of which parameters might predict success. And clues they found.

93% of patients in study had an antibody response against beta-amyloid

Patients starting SSRIs and lecanemab may warrant close monitoring

The immunotherapy drug, UB-311, developed by vaxxinity, has shown promising results in a Phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of mild Alzheimer’s disease. The trial data, published in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal, indicates that UB-311 is safe and well tolerated and demonstrates a tendency to slow cognitive decline in patients with mild Alzheimer’s.

UB-311 could offer multiple competitive advantages over licensed passive immunotherapies, including less frequent dosing, a more convenient mode of administration, improved accessibility and cost-effectiveness, and potentially lower rates of ARIA-E

The drugs clear sticky plaques from the brain. But they are not for everyone, experts caution