Umecrine Cognition’s therapy is aimed at the mild Alzheimer’s disease and has the potential to be positioned in the segment of symptomatic therapies meeting several critical criteria for a new drug. Based on its mode of action, it will have the potential to delay disease progression and improve the memory performance of patients.
The prevalence of AD is estimated to be approximately 5% of the population over 65 years of age. In 2010, the total value of the market is estimated to reach five billion USD. It is also estimated that mild to moderate forms of AD will make up 60-70% of this market. Preceding the onset of AD patients suffer from mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a period defined as impairment of memory but with other cognitive functions still preserved. MCI has a prevalence of ~10% at ages >65 and affects approximately 12 million people (an estimate for the seven key countries). Approximately 80% of MCI patients develop AD within a period of 10 years.
The currently available pharmaceutical therapies for AD are all symptomatic. Thus, there are no drugs available influencing the progression of the disease. There are two main classes of drugs on the market, Acetylcholine Esterase Inhibitors (AchEI) and N-methyl-D-Asparate (NMDA) receptor antagonists. The AchEIs have been on the market since 1990s and for Aricept (Pfizer), the dominant on the market, sales reached 1.5 B$ in 2004. Memantine, the only NMDA receptor antagonist on the market, acts as a neuroprotectant and thereby facilitates the physiological transmission associated with normal cell functioning. Memantine reached a global sale of 339 M$ in 2004. Its introduction has had little effect on the AchEI’s market, since Memantine is often prescribed as add on to AchEI.