By Kathleen Berger, Executive Producer of Science and Technology

Brainshuttle technology is an innovation by Roche that shows promise for getting an Alzheimer’s anti-amyloid drug through the blood-brain barrier to its target. The Brainshuttle is a fragment of an antibody designed to get passage through the blood-brain barrier, to then shuttle the drug cargo deep into the brain. The Brainshuttle would deliver anti-amyloid therapies directly to the amyloid-beta proteins in the brain that form amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Brainshuttle technology would allow the drugs to more effectively get rid of the harmful proteins, slowing Alzheimer’s disease progression.

Brainshuttle technology is one of several promising Alzheimer’s drug developments in the pipeline.

Dr. George Grossburg, the Henry & Amelia Nasrallah Professor in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine says this is a busy and exciting time in the history of Alzheimer’s research and drug development.

Dr. Grossberg shares valuable insights, as he is a consultant for a few of the drug companies with some of the most promising new developments in the Alzheimer’s drug pipeline.