Amgen and Novartis have expanded their collaboration with Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI) to initiate a new trial – the Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API) Generation Study 2. This trial will determine whether the BACE1 inhibitor CNP520 can prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms in a high-risk population. BACE1 is an enzyme that plays an important role in the production of Amyloid β, a protein which accumulates in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease years before clinical symptoms begin.

The Generation Study 2 will eventually include more than 180 sites in more than 20 countries around the world. This five-year study will recruit approximately 2,000 cognitively healthy participants, ages 60 to 75, who are at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Eligible participants will be randomized to receive placebo or one of two doses of CNP520 (15 mg or 50 mg), co-developed by Amgen and Novartis.  

“We are pleased to support the launch of the Generation Study 2 with our partners at Novartis and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute to further explore promising potential therapeutic options for this highly debilitating disease,” said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of R&D at Amgen. “Through the unique combination of genetic testing and counseling in cognitively healthy adults, the Generation Study 2 exhibits an innovative clinical approach that may offer insight towards Alzheimer’s prevention for those at highest risk for developing the disease.” 

“This expanded collaboration builds upon the API Generation Study 1 which launched last year, and is another step in our effort to take clinical trials to a critical new stage,” said Pierre N. Tariot, M.D., co-director of API and director of BAI, a division of Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the U.S. “This approach continues to shift the Alzheimer’s research paradigm from reversing disease damage to attacking its root cause before symptoms surface. It is our hope that by conducting research targeting the disease at earlier stages, we will have a better chance of delaying or preventing the onset of the disease.”