PRImus-AD: an oral peptide that targets the actual bad guy in Alzheimer
Posted by cycles_dad in Research & News - 2 points, 4 comments.
PRImus-AD is running PRI-002, an orally available peptide that goes after amyloid-beta oligomers, the little clumps that a lot of researchers think are more toxic than the plaques you see on scans. They enrolled 304 folks across six European countries with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's, and the primary endpoints are about whether it actually helps thinking and daily function over time. I like that it's oral and that it's aimed at oligomers instead of plaques, since the anti-amyloid antibodies keep clearing plaques but the cognitive benefit has been kinda underwhelming, imo.
I'm cautiously interested, not hyped. Phase II in a memory space tends to have a graveyard of "looked great in mice" stories, so I'll wait for the actual endpoint numbers before I get excited. The dosing and biomarker data they publish alongside will tell me a lot more than the press release does.
Has anyone here been following the oligomer vs plaque debate closely? Curious if you think this target is finally the right one, or just another swing at the same pinata.
Comments
- rachel_ketogen: Honestly the oligomer angle is what caught my eye too. Clearing plaques while people keep declining always felt backwards to me, like mopping the floor while the sink is still overflowing. The oral piece matters more than people think for adherence in a population thats already dealing with cognitive load. If someone forgets their infusion appointment they dont get the drug. Pills are just easier. Im with you on waiting for the actual numbers. Mouse cognition isnt human cognition and weve watc
- cycles_dad: Lol the mopping the floor line is perfect, im stealing that. And yeah the adherence point is real, my mom would have been way more likely to actually take a pill than sit for an infusion, even back when she was sharp enough to remember the appointment... Which she usually wasnt. That's the whole problem imo.
- tiredmira: Haha the sink overflow line is basically how I describe it to my friends 😅 Adherence piece is huge too, like even in my own clinic the patients who have to come in for anything have way more dropouts. Pills just remove a whole layer of friction. Curious if they'll show any safety signal around ARIA, since the antibodies keep throwing that curveball and I'd assume oligomer targeting dodges some of it but who knows. Will be watching the readouts.
- cycles_dad: Yeah the sink thing lands way better than my usual explanation lol. And you're right about adherence, fewer visits means more people actually finish the trial, which makes the numbers cleaner too. Good call on ARIA, that's exactly what I want to see in the safety readout. My guess is oligomer targeting skips most of it since the antibodies' ARIA seems tied to plaque clearance and the vascular drama that comes with it, but "guess" is doing a lot of work there. Definitely watching for that 🔬
Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.