Probiodrug planning Phase IIb trials of PQ912 for early AD

Next year, Probiodrug AG (Euronext:PBD) plans to start a European Phase IIb trial of glutaminyl cyclase (QC) inhibitor PQ912 to treat early Alzheimer’s disease. The trial will evaluate safety and efficacy of the optimal dose range of PQ912.

CFO Hendrik Liebers told BioCentury the company also plans to start a U.S. Phase IIb trial of PQ912 in the indication following the European trial’s first data readout. Liebers said each trial will enroll “a couple of hundred” patients and that patients will receive treatment for a longer duration than was received in the Phase IIa SAPHIR trial of the candidate. Early AD patients in SAPHIR received twice-daily 800 mg oral PQ912 or placebo for 12 weeks...