10.12.18 | Forbes
By Steve Brozak
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Yesterday Corium International Inc. announced its shares were being purchased at a 50% premium to their closing price along with a Contingent Value Right by a private investment firm focused on healthcare and life sciences, Gurnet Point Capital. The chief asset in the acquisition is a Phase 3 clinical trans-dermal patch that delivers Donepezil used in the treatment of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This premium price was paid even before final FDA approval of the therapy based on its trans-dermal patch delivery which avoids common side effects that include: loss of appetite, gastrointestinal upset, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, vomiting and muscle cramping. Thus in the absence of new therapies, we are left with the improvement of delivery technologies as the only option to advance the care of Alzheimer’s. The question is, why haven’t we been able to bring novel therapies to market?
Considering all the investment, research and media attention given to Alzheimer’s disease we would expect greater progress, but that’s not the case. An almost perfect example of recurring failures were the Phase 3 clinical trial results of Eli Lilly and Company‘s drug Solanezumab almost two years ago. They were euphemistically described by John C. Lechleiter, former president and CEO of the pharmaceutical giant, as “not what we had hoped for,” but his characterization of the failure could be used for most of the research space.
