Athira Pharma's Alzheimer's drug fails in mid-to-late stage trial

London: Athira Pharma said on Tuesday its drug failed to meet the main goal in a mid-to-late stage trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

The experimental drug, fosgonimeton, failed to reach statistical significance in a test that measures cognition and other functions, compared to placebo at 26 weeks.

"These are not the results we hoped for,"  said Chief Medical Officer Javier Martin.

The lack of clinical decline in the placebo group, combined with the short duration of the study, may have impacted the trial's ability to translate the effect of fosgonimeton into meaningful benefit, Martin added.

The trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of once-daily injections of fosgonimeton in 312 patients.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)