There's a real reason to be super-excited about the results for Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug solanezumab: it's the first medicine to give a hint at slowing the progression of the disease. That's a reason to believe that one of the Alzheimer's drugs under development, including Lilly's but also maybe chemicals being tested by Roche or Merck, will eventually have a significant impact on this terrible disease.
In order to see the benefit, which is small, two studies had to be combined and only about half the patients (those with the milder form of the disease) were looked at. This makes scientific sense, because it's very possible that the drug would only work in the milder form of the disease. But real answers on the efficacy of solanezumab won't come for at least four years -- plenty of time for investors and analysts to try to ride a wave of hope and then abandon the stock later. In the below video, Forbes contributor, former sell-side analyst, and Manhattan Institute fellow Avik Roy discuss our reasons for being skeptical about sola.
[newsincvid id="23844832"]
