BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Making AD mice as diverse as patients

How adding genetic diversity to Alzheimer’s mice could help define responders

January 4, 2019 3:36 AM UTC

The Jackson Laboratory aims to make Alzheimer’s disease mouse models more useful for predicting which patients will respond to therapy by engineering in a high degree of genetic diversity to better reflect trial populations.

The numerous AD therapies that have failed in the clinic after producing convincing data in mice underscores the need for more predictive animal models. Even Biogen Inc.’s promising Phase Ib data from aducanumab, slated for a Phase III readout early next year, suggest the anti-amyloid mAb will likely only benefit a subset of patients. Last February, after observing variability in the Phase III data, Biogen increased Phase III enrollment to ensure the studies would be powered to see an effect on the primary endpoint...