INDIANAPOLIS, March 31 /CNW/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) has
announced today the start of a Phase III clinical trial studying LY450139, an
investigational gamma secretase inhibitor for the treatment of mild to
moderate Alzheimer's disease. LY450139 is being tested to see if it can slow
the progression associated with Alzheimer's disease by inhibiting
gamma-secretase, an enzyme that can create a sticky protein called amyloid
beta. Current Alzheimer's disease theory is that subtypes of amyloid beta
clump together into plaques that eventually kill off brain cells. By blocking
gamma secretase, there is less amyloid beta formed, potentially slowing
brain-cell death.
