Thirty five drugs could bring new prospects to dementia patients as early as next year

THIRTY five drugs could bring hope to dementia patients within the next five years, scientists revealed yesterday.

They are all going through advanced clinical trials, with some possibly ready for public use by as early as next year.

A new treatment for Alzheimer’s has not been approved for use in the United States since 2003 and the EU since 2002. There is still no cure.

But experts say more drugs than ever are being developed, with 18 per cent more being tested in clinical trials this year than last.

Some 7 per cent more are in final-stage tests.

George Vradenburg, from campaign group UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, said: “The Alzheimer’s disease pipeline, marred by decades of failures and underinvestment, is due for big victories.

“Thanks to growing investment from industry leaders, we remain cautiously optimistic that the current crop of late-stage Alzheimer’s innovations will bring much-needed solutions to families in the near future.”

Dr David Morgan, from the University of South Florida, said: “There is no silver bullet when it comes to treating Alzheimer’s.

“The more we learn about the underlying Alzheimer’s pathology, the closer we get to a cure for a disease that is an enormous burden on patients, caregivers and global health systems.”

The list of drugs in the pipeline was compiled by Researchers Against Alzheimer’s and presented at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in London.

It found there were six drugs undergoing final tests – known as Phase III trials – which were due to end in 2017.

If successful, these could be approved by the end of 2018.