Merck & Co.'s Alzheimer's Failure Has All Eyes and Hopes Turning to Biogen

Merck & Co.’s decision this week to stop a clinical study of its once-promising Alzheimer’s disease drug — just three months after an Eli Lilly & Co. treatment failed in a trial — is likely to focus even more attention on Biogen Inc.’s experimental medicine for the mind-ravaging condition. But it also raises concerns that an effective treatment will continue to remain elusive for years to come.

Merck ended its trial of the drug after an outside panel of medical specialists concluded there was “virtually no chance of finding a positive clinical effect.”

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