Updates on Blarcamesine and Lecanemab for Alzheimer Disease From AD/PD 2026

Anavex Life Sciences shared new data on blarcamesine and Esai presented new analysis of intravenous lecanemab in Alzheimer disease at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 17-21, 2026.

Oral Blarcamesine Preserves Brain Volume in Early Alzheimer Stages

The latest long-term data on blarcamesine showed 77.4 weeks (nearly 18 months) time saved with oral blarcamesine treatment, compared with controls, after 144 weeks of treatment.¹ The presented data come from the AD-004 phase 2b/3 trial.

“The patient-friendly oral administration, the manageable side effects, and the clinical efficacy—particularly in the genetically defined ABCLEAR3 population—make blarcamesine, in conjunction with the associated biomarker signal, a promising drug candidate for patients with early-stage Alzheimer disease,” said Timo Grimmer, MD, member of the Anavex scientific advisory board and national coordinating investigator for the blarcamesine study. “Alzheimer disease is a devastating chronic disease that affects millions worldwide. We believe, these new results will contribute to the growing body of scientific data demonstrating the long-term beneficial effect of blarcamesine in early Alzheimer disease,” he added.

Additional data from the study showed that patients with particular gene types (wild-type SIGMAR1 and COL24A1) may experience greater clinical and structural benefit from taking blarcamesine. This finding enhances the field’s movement towards genomic and biomarker based strategies for treating Alzheimer disease.

“These results indicate that blarcamesine’s clinical effects are biologically coherent with MRI‑based measures of neuroprotection,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Anavex. He continued, “the consistent relation between structural preservation of brain volume and functional outcomes further drives our dedication to developing a novel disease-modifying Alzheimer’s treatment with our oral blarcamesine.”

Intravenous (IV) Lecanemab May Promote Clearance of Amyloid-Beta

Analysis of long-term treatment persistence with IV lecanemab in patients with early Alzheimer disease showed most patients continued the medication past 18 months.² Throughout the long-term study, 78.4% of patients continued treatment at 18 months, 71.7% continued at 20 months, and 67.3% continued at 24 months. This finding is consistent with the previous phase 3 Clarity AD study, in which 94% of patients completing 18 months of lecanemab treatment chose to continue maintenance treatment in the open-label extension. Patients in the Clarity AD study who continued lecanemab showed benefits from 4 years of treatment, compared with the natural course of Alzheimer disease.

In an oral presentation at AD/PD, Lars Lannfelt, MD, PhD, also shared more on the binding profile of lecanemab in Alzheimer disease-affected brain tissue; research showed lecanemab selectively targets A-beta protofibrils, engaging immune pathways to promote clearance of A-beta.

References

1. Anavex Life Sciences presents new data from its AD-004 Phase IIb/III trial at AD/PD 2026 conference demonstrating consistent correlation between the treatment effect of oral blarcamesine and preservation of brain volume in early Alzheimer’s disease. Press release. March 23, 2026. Accessed March 23, 2026. https://anavex.com/news/anavex-blarcamesine-brain-volume-alzheimers-adpd-2026/#_ftn1

2. New data on long-term, real-world treatment with lecanemab presented at the 2026 AD/PD congress. Press release. March 23, 2026. Accessed March 23, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-on-long-term-real-world-treatment-with-lecanemab-presented-at-the-2026-adpd-congress-302721847.html