Biogen (BIIB) and Neurotrope (NTRP) are two companies frantically trying to save their Alzheimer’s drugs - aducanumab and bryostatin-1 - from lackluster data. One is at the top of the pharmaceutical heap and the other is near the bottom. Both are led by scientists who are certain that their drugs address the central cause of Alzheimer’s disease (amyloid and protein kinase C inactivation, respectively). Neither is willing to concede the flaws in their approach.
Let’s begin with Neurotrope. Ironically, protein kinase C is a critical factor but its over-activation during the