Current Update on Promising New Anti-Alzheimer's Drugs in Different Phases of Clinical Development: Where Exactly Are We Lacking?

The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is rising with an aging population worldwide and is expected to surpass 130 million by 2050. India is no exception, but the true prevalence data on AD is not conclusive. By 2050, India will have almost 15% of the population aged 60 years or above. It is the need of the hour to have newer and more effective agents that can address various therapeutic needs of Alzheimer's viz., halt or delay disease progression, and offer better improvement in symptomatology. The most desirable would be to have an intervention that can prevent AD onset. The prime focus of the present review is to introduce to the readers the promising drug candidates across the world. We reviewed all the information available to us through a literature search. It is quite apparent that the developmental efforts are concentrated not only on disease-modifying therapies that can prevent the development but also on palliative therapies that improve the quality of life of AD patients. Several approaches including biological and small molecules are being explored to tap their potential in AD therapeutics using sound scientific research principles and execution. Besides conventional development approaches, the drug repurposing strategy has emerged as quick, cost-effective, and less risky and is being exploited to the fullest. The drugs in the pipeline and undergoing various phases of clinical trials for the past 5 years are taken from the ClinicalTrials.gov registry. It remains to be seen the advent of a successful disease-modifying agent for AD in future.