Lilly's Kisunla Shows Promising Long-Term Results in Alzheimer's Treatment

Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's disease therapy Kisunla has demonstrated encouraging long-term efficacy in maintaining amyloid plaque clearance and slowing cognitive decline, according to new data presented at the 2025 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto.

Sustained Amyloid Clearance After Treatment Cessation

Long-term extension (LTE) data from the Phase III TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 study revealed that amyloid plaque reaccumulation remained slow in patients who discontinued Kisunla treatment. Over a follow-up period of up to 2.5 years, amyloid plaques reappeared at a rate of just 2.4 centiloids per year.

John Sims, senior medical director of neurodegeneration at Lilly, stated that this slow reaccumulation rate suggests patients may not need to resume treatment once their brain amyloid levels fall below a certain threshold after initial Kisunla therapy.

Cognitive Benefits and Early Treatment Advantages

The LTE study also provided evidence of Kisunla's cognitive benefits. Over three years of follow-up, patients treated with Kisunla showed slower cognitive decline compared to matched external patients from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort. This was measured using the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes tool.

Furthermore, the data highlighted the advantages of early treatment initiation. Patients who received Kisunla in the main TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 study were 27% less likely to progress to the next stage of disease compared to those who started treatment later in the delayed-start group.

Market Competition and Financial Performance

As Lilly advances its Alzheimer's treatment, the company faces stiff competition from Biogen and Eisai's Leqembi, which received full FDA approval earlier and has been on the market for about a year and a half longer than Kisunla.

While Leqembi's uptake has been slow, recent financial reports show encouraging signs. Biogen reported approximately $96 million in global sales for Leqembi in the first quarter of 2025, followed by $160 million in Q2. In comparison, Kisunla generated $21 million in its first quarter on the market. Lilly is set to report its second-quarter earnings next week, which will provide further insight into Kisunla's market performance.