What Are the Downsides of Monoclonal Antibodies?

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Every drug has its downsides, including actual side effects and monoclonal antibodies are certainly no exception in that. We just do not have the capability to deliver this if it was licensed tomorrow. And then we will need to be able to provide intravenous infusions,. That would really require scaling up a capacity. I am hopeful, but it's going to be quite a challenge.

Back in November, researchers hailed the dawn of a new era of Alzheimer’s therapies. After decades of failure, a clinical trial finally confirmed that a drug, lecanemab, was able to slow cognitive decline in patients with early stages of the disease. The result may have been modest – a reduction in the decline in patients’ overall mental skills by 27% over 18 months – but it could not be more significant in the journey towards better understanding and treating the disease. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Nick Fox about the clinical trial results, if this could be the first of many new Alzheimer’s therapies, and whether we could one day see a cure.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod