Pharmacoeconomics won

Pfizer refused to investigate a possible cure for Alzheimer's disease

Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+

The American pharmaceutical giant chose not to spend money on research of a drug that could become a long-awaited remedy for an incurable disease. The managers felt that it would not be enough to make money on it.

Pfizer specialists made an amazing discovery in 2015: the popular anti-rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 64%. The results were revealed during the analysis of hundreds of thousands of insurance applications. Confirmation of these data would require expensive clinical trials – and after several years of discussion, the company's management chose not to conduct further research and not to make public statements.

According to the estimates of the company's research department, clinical trials involving several thousand volunteers would cost $80 million, and scientists recommended that the directorate conduct them.

"It is possible that Enbrel is able to safely prevent, treat and slow down the development of Alzheimer's disease," says a document intended for internal use, which fell into the hands of Washington Post journalists.

The company told reporters that as a result of three years of discussion, it decided that the drug was hopeless. Allegedly, its molecules are too large to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and reach brain tissues, so the probability of success of clinical trials is low. Summary: these statistics do not meet "strict scientific standards".

A number of scientists not working for Pfizer disagree with this assessment of Enbrel's potential. According to them, the drug may have important properties to combat the disease and decline in cognitive abilities in the early stages.

The company should have at least published its discovery so that other researchers could use it, experts insist.

Meanwhile, the patent for Enbrel has expired, generics have appeared and revenues from the drug have fallen. Investments in further research of the drug and others of its class have become even less likely. Instead, Pfizer patented a new remedy for rheumatoid arthritis – Xeljanz, and invested a lot of money in its promotion.

Spending money on testing Enbrel, the patent for which was coming to an end, without having confidence in the outcome, was unreasonable from a business point of view, said one of the former directors of the company, who wished to remain anonymous.

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