FDA-Approved Alzheimer’s Medications

⚫ Alzheimer’s disease takes a toll on not just the people suffering from the disease but also on their loved ones and caregivers in a way that almost no other illness does.

⚫ The Alzheimer’s disease market is projected to experience robust growth at a compound annual growth rate of 20% from $2.2 billion in 2020 to $13.7 billion in 2030!

🔶 Drug Development Pipeline:
🔸 187 current trials assessing 141 unique drugs
🔸 Phase 3: 36 drugs
🔸 Phase 2: 87 drugs
🔸 Phase 1: 31 drugs

🔷 Phase 3 has 36 agents in 55 trials:
🔹 DMT*-Biologics: 9 (25%)
🔹 DMT*-Small molecules: 15 (42%)
🔹 Putative cognitive-enhancers: 5 (14%)
🔹 Neuropsychiatric symptoms: 7 (19%)
*DMT stands for disease-modifying therapies

🔶 Most Common Targets:
🔸 Transmitter receptors, amyloid, synaptic function, and inflammation

🔷 58 new drugs have entered the pipeline in the past year!
🔷 28% of candidate therapies are repurposed from other diseases!

⚫Despite the hype, controversy, and occasional scandal surrounding the approval of Alzheimer’s drugs, and the disappointing reports of the ineffectiveness of recently approved drugs, many companies are still dedicating time and resources to finding a potential cure for this debilitating disease. This gives hope that the future is bright for those living with Alzheimer’s.

🔶 Learn more:
🔸 Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline: 2023 – Cummings – 2023 – Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions – Wiley Online Library
🔸 Alzheimer’s Drug Market To Hit $13B As FDA Approvals And Insurance Coverage Escalate (forbes.com)

Great collection from Maryam Daneshpour

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase: fundamentals and biotechnological implications

Today’s cyclodextrin:
is about the birth of these compounds. I collected two great sources; first, a review that presents a comprehensive view of CGTase produced by Bacillus spp. and other bacterial genera like Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, and Microbacterium. It also gives insight of the properties and recent biotechnological applications of cyclodextrins.

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase: fundamentals and biotechnological implications | SpringerLink


However, the bioproduction of CDs still faces challenges in terms of optimization and process complexity. The 2nd study proposes a novel CD bioproduction system in a batch mode to increase yield and reduce costs. Scale-up to the bioreactor displayed improved growth kinetics for both bacteria and higher protein production and CGTase activity for Paenibacillus macerans.


Future Pharmacology | Free Full-Text | Design of a Cyclodextrin Bioproduction Process Using Bacillus pseudofirmus and Paenibacillus macerans (mdpi.com)


Whole-body cellular mapping in mouse using standard IgG antibodies

Fascinating new method, wildDISCO, uses 2,6-dimethyl-β-cyclodextrin to overcome the limitations of conventional whole-body imaging methods.

This technology enables the uniform staining of whole bodies with conventional IgG antibodies and reveals cellular and structural maps across the entire mouse body. This has allowed us to map diverse biological systems, including peripheral nerve atlases and the complete lymphatic system, and make novel biological findings. We studied tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) in the whole mouse body along with cancer metastasis, providing insights into their therapeutic potentials.

The wildDISCO method facilitates the visualization of endogenous proteins in a whole body without a transgenic reporter. Its compatibility with over 30 commercial antibodies marks a breakthrough in biomedical applications and research at the whole mouse level.
Rami Al-MaskariIzabela HorvathMarie PiraudJohannes C. PaetzoldJennifer ModamioFarida Hellal & Ali Ertürk et al.

See the full article on nature.com!


Use of cyclodextrin to enhance solubility of substrates and increase enzymatic glycosylation reaction efficiency

We are particularly fond of biotech applications of #cyclodextrin, and the invention of DoubleRainbow Biosciences gives a simple solution for exploiting their potential in this field and helps understand how CDs could be used to improve enzymatic glycosylation efficiency.
Yasmin ChauJacob Wirth, DING, Sheng, Jing-Ke Weng

See the full patent on Patentscope: Use of cyclodextrin to enhance solubility of substrates and increase enzymatic glycosylation reaction efficiency