Efforts to develop effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are increasingly moving away from a single-target approach and toward a more complex strategy inspired by advances in cancer therapy. Recent clinical trials — including those that did not achieve their intended outcomes — are reinforcing the idea that Alzheimer’s is driven by multiple biological pathways rather than one isolated cause.
This shift in thinking was highlighted by studies testing semaglutide, a GLP-1 drug best known for its success in diabetes and weight-loss treatment. Although the trials did not demonstrate clear benefits for slowing cognitive decline, researchers say the results remain valuable. They point to a growing recognition that neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s involve intertwined processes affecting inflammation, metabolism, blood flow, and protein buildup in the brain.
Currently, treatment options for Alzheimer’s remain limited. Only two drugs have gained widespread regulatory approval for slowing disease progression: Kisunla, developed by Eli Lilly, and Leqembi, from Eisai and Biogen. Both therapies work by targeting amyloid plaques — abnormal protein accumulations that are a defining feature of the disease. Clinical data suggest these drugs can delay the progression of Alzheimer’s by roughly 30 percent, a meaningful but incomplete step forward.
Researchers now believe that focusing solely on amyloid may not be enough. Much like modern cancer treatments that combine drugs aimed at different molecular targets, future Alzheimer’s therapies may need to address multiple aspects of the disease simultaneously. These could include tau protein tangles, chronic inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and vascular changes in the brain.
The urgency of finding more effective treatments continues to grow. Worldwide, more than 55 million people are living with dementia, and Alzheimer’s accounts for approximately 60 percent of those cases. The disease is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins, which progressively damage brain cells and impair memory, thinking, and daily function.
While setbacks in clinical trials can be discouraging, experts argue they are also shaping a more realistic and sophisticated understanding of Alzheimer’s biology. By learning from oncology’s evolution toward combination and pathway-based therapies, researchers hope to unlock new strategies that could eventually slow, halt, or even prevent the disease more effectively.