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Challenges and opportunities for novel combination therapies in Alzheimer's disease: a report from the EU/US CTAD Task Force
Angioni D, Middleton L, Bateman R, Aisen P, Boxer A, Sha S, Zhou J, Gerlach I et al.. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease, 2025-04-18
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Following the recent approvals of anti-amyloid immunotherapies as "first-in-kind" disease-modifying agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is an emerging emphasis in combination therapies, given the complex and multifactorial etiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disease. The EU/US CTAD Task Force met in Madrid in October 2024, to discuss biological rationale and methodological issues and outline potential directions for future research in combination therapies. The Task Force agreed on the necessity and urgency of advancing combination therapies for AD treatment. As of January 1, 2024, in the drug development pipeline, there were 21 combination trials (13 % of all trials). The combination of anti-amyloid and anti-tau therapies could become a central focus of the field. Combinations involving anti-inflammatory and immune mechanisms with anti-amyloid or other therapies also have promise. To facilitate the development and implementation of combination therapies, collaborations between sponsors and public-private partnerships are essential. Optimizing the likelihood of success primarily requires leveraging the use of biomarkers and a clearer understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning AD and their interactions, especially those involving amyloid, tau, and inflammation, that lead to cognitive decline and progression.
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APA 7th
Angioni, D., Middleton, L., Bateman, R., Aisen, P., Boxer, A., Sha, S., et al. (2025). Challenges and opportunities for novel combination therapies in Alzheimer's disease: a report from the EU/US CTAD Task Force. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100163
Vancouver
Angioni D, Middleton L, Bateman R, Aisen P, Boxer A, Sha S, et al. Challenges and opportunities for novel combination therapies in Alzheimer's disease: a report from the EU/US CTAD Task Force. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease. 2025. doi:10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100163. PMID: 40253240.
BibTeX
@article{angioni2025-40253240,
author = {Angioni, D. and Middleton, L. and Bateman, R. and Aisen, P. and Boxer, A. and Sha, S. and Zhou, J. and Gerlach, I. and others},
title = {{Challenges and opportunities for novel combination therapies in Alzheimer's disease: a report from the EU/US CTAD Task Force}},
journal = {The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100163},
pmid = {40253240},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjpad.2025.100163}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- As of January 1, 2024, in the drug development pipeline, there were 21 combination trials (13 % of all trials).
- The combination of anti-amyloid and anti-tau therapies could become a central focus of the field.
- Combinations involving anti-inflammatory and immune mechanisms with anti-amyloid or other therapies also have promise.
- To facilitate the development and implementation of combination therapies, collaborations between sponsors and public-private partnerships are essential.
- Optimizing the likelihood of success primarily requires leveraging the use of biomarkers and a clearer understanding of the biological mechanisms underpinning AD and their interactions, especially those involving amyloid, tau, and inflammation, that lead to cognitive decline and progression.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's disease) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40253240) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 26 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
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