Utah test drug on Alzheimer's hailed

The Medical University of South Carolina is touting results of a phase 2 trial of a drug candidate that hails from Utah for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

At a conference in Spain Monday, MUSC researchers said that Flurizan, an investigational drug from Myriad Genetics of Salt Lake City, seems to reduce the frequency of serious psychiatric events associated with Alzheimer's disease. Those include depression, aggression, agitation and confusion.

Over the course of the year-long study, about one-third of participants who were taking placebo experienced psychiatric episodes. But of patients with mild Alzheimer's who took 800 mg of Flurizan twice a day, only 14 percent had such episodes.

The patients on placebo had only 106 days elapse between occurrences, compared to Flurizan's 333 days. In a news release, the MUSC researchers suggested that Alzheimer's disease patients on the drug worsen more slowly than those on placebo, which they hailed as important for not only patients, but also for their spouses and other caregivers.

Myriad is now enrolling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease for a Phase 3 clinical trial at 130 centers around the country. It is double-blind, placebo-controlled and patients will either receive the medication for the 18 month trial or a placebo. It is being conducted to test the investigational drug's ability to reduce the rate of decline and preserve activities of daily living. Participation information is available by calling 888-459-4888.