Cogstate tests to be used in Alzheimer's study

Cogstate (ASX:CGS) has scored a coup with a deal to provide cognition testing technology for a phase III trial of a prospective preventative treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Eli Lilly is recruiting for a 1000-patient trial of anti-amyloid drug Solanezumab in upstream Alzheimer’s patients. The trial will be conducted across 60 sites, including the University of Melbourne.

Patients enrolled in the A4 (Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease) trial will have an elevated level of amyloid plaque in their brains. They will thus be considered at-risk for Alzheimer’s but yet to show any symptoms.

Participants will be randomised to receive either Solanezumab or a placebo, to assess the ability of the drug to slow the onset of Alzheimer’s-related dementia.

The patients will undergo PET scans and cognition testing using Cogstate technology to determine their baseline memory function and cognitive abilities and monitor for any subtle declines over time. Testing will be conducted at seven intervals throughout the 48-month trial.

The cognition tests use an iPad to assess an individual’s reaction time and visual memory via a series of playing card-based challenges.

In a statement announcing the agreement, Cogstate said that if testing proves successful during the trial, it could pave the way for clinically normal elderly patients to be assessed for Alzheimer’s risk in the future.

“We have shown now in many studies that the Cogstate battery, now being used in the A4 study, is sensitive to amyloid-related cognitive decline,” Cogstate CSO Paul Maruff said.

“These same Cogstate tests have also been shown repeatedly to be sensitive to the effects of novel and licensed drugs that modify cognitive symptoms in early AD. We are therefore optimistic and excited about the potential outcomes of the A4 study.”

Cogstate (ASX:CGS) shares were trading 7.25% lower at $0.32 as of around 1 pm on Tuesday.