One company last hope for Alzheimer's drug

For millions of people with Alzheimer's, an experimental drug from Eli Lilly & Co. may be their last hope for treatment.

Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson pulled the plug Monday on their joint development of a similar therapy for Alzheimer's disease, after it failed to show any benefit in two late-stage studies. Lilly has said it will release its findings by the end of September.

The stakes are high, for the 5.4 million in the United States with Alzheimer's and for Lilly. No medicines on the market slow the progression of the disease, the most common form of dementia. If the Lilly drug succeeds, treatments could begin next year. Still, Lilly executives warn that a successful outcome for their solanezumab is a long shot.

With Pfizer and J&J having pulled out, investors give the Lilly drug a less than 20 percent chance of success. But treatments in development by other companies are still years away. -- Bloomberg News