April 16, 2026

New Cochrane review on anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs

Over the past few years we’ve heard evidence from clinical trials of the amyloid beta-targeting monoclonal antibodies, like aducanumab, lecanemab and donanemab for Alzheimer’s disease.  Bodies like the MHRA, NICE and the EMA have looked at the data and made decisions about whether to approve or recommend these drugs.  There have been different views within the scientific community about the extent to which these drugs work, cause side-effects, and offer a clinically meaningful benefit.

Now Cochrane have carried out a review of the trial evidence on these drugs. The new review examined data from 17 clinical trials with a total of 20,342 participants, all looking at the impact of anti-amyloid drugs on people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Journalists dialled in to this press briefing to ask their questions and to hear from the authors of the review discuss aspects such as:

– does evidence from the trials suggest these drugs remove amyloid plaques from the brain?

– does evidence from the trials suggest these drugs slow disease progression?

– does the evidence suggest these drugs offer a clinically meaningful benefit?

– what about reported adverse events such as bleeding on the brain?

– was there a difference if the drugs were given at an earlier stage of Alzheimer’s disease?

Speakers included:

Dr Francesco Nonino, neurologist and epidemiologist, IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Italy

Prof Edo Richard, Professor of Neurology at Radboud University Medical Centre, the Netherlands

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.