Drugs

Drugs and prevention

No drug is approved to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. These are the medicines being tested before symptoms, those that failed, and existing medicines with prevention signals.

In prevention trials now

Drug	Type	For prevention
DonanemabKisunla; Eli LillySee trial FDA label ↗	Anti-amyloid antibody, IV	Approved for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s; being tested before symptoms in TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 3.
LecanemabLeqembi; Eisai and BiogenSee trial FDA label ↗	Anti-amyloid antibody, IV or under-the-skin	Approved for early symptomatic Alzheimer’s; being tested before symptoms in AHEAD 3-45.
HT-4253Halia TherapeuticsSee trial Registry ↗	Oral LRRK2 inhibitor	Investigational; Phase 2a in APOE4 carriers who have no symptoms.

Tested for prevention and failed or stopped

Drug	Type	For prevention
SolanezumabEli LillySee trial Results ↗	Anti-amyloid antibody	No benefit in the A4 Study.
CrenezumabGenentech (Roche)See trial Results ↗	Anti-amyloid antibody	No significant benefit in a family with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
UmibecestatNovartis and AmgenSee trial Registry ↗	BACE inhibitor	Stopped in 2019 after mild cognitive worsening.
CAD106NovartisSee trial Registry ↗	Active amyloid vaccine	Halted in 2019 with the rest of the Generation Program.

Existing medicines with prevention signals

Drug	Type	For prevention
Blood-pressure medicinesGenericSee evidence Results ↗	Lower blood pressure	Intensive treatment reduced mild cognitive impairment in SPRINT MIND; not approved for dementia prevention.
Cholesterol-lowering medicinesGenericSee risk factors Lancet Commission ↗	Lower LDL cholesterol	High midlife LDL cholesterol is linked to about 7% of dementia; trial evidence for prevention is still limited.
Shingles vaccineOlder live vaccine (Zostavax)See evidence Study ↗	Vaccine against herpes zoster	About 20% fewer new dementia diagnoses in a Wales natural experiment; not a randomized trial.

This site is for education and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own risk and what is right for you.