Amezosvatein

A major new study has spotlighted three familiar medicines that could take on an unexpected new role in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease — with a shingles vaccine emerging as the front-runner. After reviewing 80 existing drugs, an international panel of experts identified Zostavax, Viagra (sildenafil), and riluzole as the most promising candidates for repurposing.Researchers have pinpointed three already approved medications that may be repurposed to treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease. Instead of starting from scratch, scientists examined medicines that are currently used for other conditions to see whether any could help protect the brain. The study, funded by Alzheimer's Society and led by the University of Exeter, was published in Alzheimer's Research and Therapy. Among the drugs reviewed, a shingles vaccine (Zostavax) emerged as the most promising candidate. Viagra (sildenafil) and a medication used to treat motor neurone disease (riluzole) also showed strong potential. Why Drug Repurposing Matters Dementia is the leading cause of death in the UK, affecting around one million people. One in three people born today will develop dementia in their lifetime -- yet there is still no cure. Creating brand new drugs can take 10 to 15 years and cost billions of pounds -- with no guarantee of success. Repurposing medicines that are already approved and widely used could provide a faster, safer, and more affordable path toward new Alzheimer's treatments. This work was also supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Exeter Biomedical Research Centre, and the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Health. How the Top Alzheimer's Candidates Were Chosen An international group of 21 dementia specialists from universities, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry, along with people affected by dementia, evaluated 80 existing medications. Their goal was to identify which ones showed the greatest promise for treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease, which accounts for more than half of all dementia diagnoses. After multiple rounds of review, the panel agreed on three 'priority candidates' for further research. Each drug was selected because it targets biological processes linked to Alzheimer's, has shown encouraging results in cell and animal studies, and is considered safe for use in older adults. The three priority drugs are: Shingles Vaccine Shows Strongest Signal Experts are now calling for clinical trials to determine whether these medications truly benefit people who have Alzheimer's or are at risk of developing it. Among the three, the shingles vaccine stood out. It requires no more than two doses and has a long record of safety. Previous research suggests that people who received the vaccine were about 16% less likely to develop dementia. Researchers hope to launch a large UK clinical trial of the shingles vaccine, using the to track participants. PROTECT is an online registry in which volunteers complete annual questionnaires about their health and lifestyle and take part in brain health research. Other Drugs Considered Five additional medications were shortlisted but did not meet the criteria to be named 'priority candidates.' These included fingolimod (used in MS), vortioxetine (used to treat major depressive disorder), microlithium (used to treat depression), dasitinib (used for leukaemia), and cytisine (used in anesthetics). Experts Urge Caution and Further Trials Dr. Anne Corbett, Professor of Dementia Research at the University of Exeter, said: "Beating dementia will take every avenue of research -- from using what we already know, to discovering new drugs to treat and prevent the condition. "Drug repurposing is a vital part of that mix, helping us turn today's medicine for one condition, into tomorrow's treatment for another. "It's important to stress that these drugs need further investigation before we will know whether they can be used to treat or prevent Alzheimer's. We now need to see robust clinical trials to understand their true value and know for certain if they are effective to treat or prevent Alzheimer's." Prof Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer at Alzheimer's Society, said: "Dementia devastates lives, but we believe research will beat it. "Years ago, we saw aspirin being repurposed from being a painkiller to helping people reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke. This is what we want to see in the field of dementia, and why we believe drug repurposing is one of the most exciting frontiers in dementia research."

With quarterly earnings underway, BioPharma Dive is providing a snapshot of some companies results and how theyre being received by investors. Today, were offering insight into the latest numbers from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and AbbVie.AbbVie angstAbbVie reported $16.6 billion worth of net revenue in the final three months of 2025, a 10% year-over-year increase. The total was a bit above what analysts generally predicted, with the vast majority of revenue upside coming from a surprise performance by Humira, according to David Risinger of Leerink Partners.Once the worlds best-selling drug, Humira has been in decline since generic competition entered the market a few years ago. But in the fourth quarter, the $1.2 billion the drug brought in was almost 30% higher than Wall Street expectations.Most of AbbVies other products were roughly in-line with estimates, with one exception being Rinvoq, which fell below with a quarterly revenue of nearly $2.4 billion. Those performances may be why company shares were, at one point Wednesday, down more than 6%.Phipps, of William Blair, highlighted how it was the second quarter in a row that Rinvoq didnt meet analyst forecasts. At the same time, Skyrizi the other immune system-regulating drug AbbVie has pegged as a partial successor to Humira had only a slight beat.Investors continue to have concerns about growing competition for the companys [immunology] franchises, Phipps wrote in a note to clients. One particular point of worry, he added, is how Rinvoq and Skyrizi will fare in the inflammatory bowel disease market since the relatively recent entries of Johnson & Johnsons Tremfya and copycat versions of Stelara.AbbVie recorded $61.2 billion in net revenue across all of 2025, reflecting an 8.6% annual gain. For this year, the company said adjusted diluted earnings per share will land somewhere between $14.37 to $14.57.Though such a range should be viewed positively by investors, Cantor Fitzgeralds Carter Gould argues that the focus is more on the revenue and product-level guides, especially for Skyrizi. Jacob BellA bifurcated vaccine marketVaccine makers are facing a unique challenge in one of their largest markets. The sudden, drastic shift in U.S. vaccine policy, combined with growing skepticism and declining immunization rates, has imperiled sales as well as future vaccine research.Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has already reportedly said his company wont invest in late-stage vaccine trials due to the contentious climate. Now, some of the worlds top vaccine manufacturers are reporting slowing sales numbers that could provide insight into how the situation will play out in the coming years.Last week, French pharmaceutical Sanofi said that vaccine sales fell 2.5% in the fourth quarter and are anticipating negative sales growth next year. Thats in large part due to performance in the U.S., where revenue dipped for immunizations against polio, meningitis, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.GSK is now reporting similar trends.The British drugmaker said Wednesday that while overall vaccine sales were up 2% in the fourth quarter, its growth was driven by sales in Europe and elsewhere, while U.S. numbers tumbled for its influenza, RSV and shingles vaccines. Its shingles vaccine, Shingrix, faced the sharpest decline, with sales plummeting 17% in the U.S. due to heightening difficulty reaching unvaccinated individuals.While the earnings for adult shots were the most affected, GSK has yet to see how the new changes to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule will affect the rest of GSKs vaccines. Nina Mojas, head of the companys global product strategy, said the impact should be manageable given its broad vaccine portfolio.“We continue to monitor the evolving pediatric vaccine landscape in the U.S, Mojas said during an earnings call.Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rolled back six immunization recommendations for children in response to a directive from President Trump. The schedule was scaled down to recommend 11 vaccines from the previous 17.At least so far, however, insurance coverage remains as before, Mojas added. GSK expects vaccine sales to either be stable or decline by a low-single digits percent in 2026. Delilah AlvaradoBristol Myers waiting gameBristol Myers growth portfolio lived up to its name in 2025, helping the company deliver fourth-quarter and full-year revenues that were a tick higher than analyst estimates.The portfolio spans 18 products, most of which are used to treat cancer or regulate the immune system. Collectively, revenue from this group rose 17% last year, and accounted for 55% of the total $48.2 billion Bristol Myers recorded. Standout performances, according to William Blair analyst Matt Phipps, came from the anemia shot Reblozyl, the heart drug Camzyos and the cell therapy Breyanzi.Wall Street had hoped to see Cobenfy, a first-of-its-kind treatment for schizophrenia that generated $51 million in the fourth quarter, bring in a bit more during that three-month period. Bristol Myers took control of Cobenfy back in 2024, through an acquisition worth $14 billion. The company has been looking to ramp up sales by notching additional approvals in more common conditions like bipolar disorder or the agitation, psychosis and cognition problems that often accompany Alzheimers disease.A trio of late-stage studies evaluating Cobenfy against Alzheimers psychosis are set to produce results this year. Analysts have pinpointed those trials as some of Bristol Myers most important near-term catalysts, along with Phase 3 readouts for the companys experimental myeloma drugs iberdomide and mezigdomide and its blood thinner milvexian.We see the continued outperformance of the growth portfolio as a positive signal on execution, with attention pointing to [back half of the year] datasets for further confidence on the mid- to long-term revenue trajectory, wrote Raymond James analyst Sean McCutcheon in a note to clients.Bristol Myers is under pressure to further build out that portfolio, given the steep declines across most of its legacy drugs like Revlimid and Pomalyst. Its top-seller, Eliquis, is also poised to lose key patent protections in 2028, putting more than a quarter of Bristol Myers annual revenue in jeopardy.For 2026, the company forecasts revenue reaching around $46 billion to $47.5 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $6.05 to $6.35. Those figures are in line to moderately above Wall Street expectations, McCutcheon wrote.Shares of Bristol Myers climbed more than 3% Thursday. Jacob Bell '