Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Shares of Biogen and other drugmakers researching Alzheimer's disease soared early Wednesday after Japan's Eisai Co. said its potential treatment appeared to slow the fatal disease in a late-stage study.
The drugmaker said early results showed that its treatment, lecanemab, reduced patient clinical decline by 27% when compared to a placebo or fake drug after 18 months of the infused treatment.
Eisai announced results late Tuesday from a global study of nearly 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer's.
Patients were monitored using a scale that measures mental decline and their ability to do daily activities like getting dressed or feeding oneself.
Eisai Co. Ltd. said it would discuss full results from the research at a conference in late November. It also plans to publish findings in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
The company is already seeking an accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the agency is expected to decide by early next year. Eisai and Biogen will co-promote the drug.
Researchers typically urge caution in evaluating a study until the full results are released. But the initial findings appear to be "quite robust" and will likely support regulatory approval, Mizuho Securities analyst Graig Suvannavejh said in a research note.
A statement from the Alzheimer's Association called the findings the most encouraging to date for potential treatments of the underlying disease causes.
Some 6 million people in the U.S. and many more worldwide have Alzheimer's, which gradually attacks areas of the brain needed for memory, reasoning, communication and basic daily tasks.
Alzheimer's has no known cure. Long-standing treatments on the market just manage symptoms, and researchers don't fully understand what causes the disease.
Last year, Biogen's Aduhelm became the first new Alzheimer's drug introduced in nearly two decades. But it has largely flopped after debuting with a price tag of $56,000 annually, which Biogen later slashed.
Doctors have been hesitant to prescribe it, given weak evidence that the drug slows the progression of Alzheimer's. Insurers have blocked or restricted coverage due to concerns over the drug's high price tag and uncertain benefit.
Earlier this year, the federal Medicare program imposed strict limits on who can get the drug, wiping out most of its potential U.S. market. Biogen announced afterward that it would stop most of its spending on the treatment.
Like Aduhelm, lecanemab, which Eisai developed, aims to clear a protein called beta-amyloid from the brain.
The protein forms a plaque that researchers believe is a contributor to Alzheimer's. They also point to other potential factors like family history and chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Eisai executives say lecanemab focuses more on floating clumps of the protein before it forms the plaque, which is what Aduhelm targets.
Eli Lilly and Co. also is developing a potential treatment, donanemab, that targets the protein.
Shares of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen Inc. jumped 35% to $267.29 in Wednesday morning trading as the broader indexes edged higher. The stock had largely tumbled since Aduhelm's debut last year.
Shares of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. were up more than 8%.
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Canadian Blood Services issued an apology on Friday to the LGBTQ2S+ community for what it now admits was a harmful and discriminatory blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow says that she is hopeful an announcement could be made soon amid multiple reports that a WNBA team is coming to Toronto in 2026.
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.