Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a rare, rapidly progressing neurodegenerative disease that is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 60.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a rare, rapidly progressing neurodegenerative disease that is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 60. Patients with FTD frequently develop symptoms such as behavioral changes, lapses in judgment, and diminished language skills when they are in their 40’s and 50’s with the disease running its course in 7-10 years. There are currently no FDA-approved treatment options available for any form of FTD.
Our efforts to advance the treatment of frontotemporal dementia
There are multiple inherited forms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and decreased levels of progranulin play a direct role in the disease. Progranulin is a secreted protein with multiple functions, including protection of neurons and regulation of neuroinflammation. In FTD caused by a GRN gene mutation (FTD-GRN), specific heterozygous loss-of-function mutations reduce progranulin levels by about 50 percent. This loss is a key cause of the disease, with a 90 percent chance of developing symptoms by age 75.
Our lead program, latozinemab (AL001), focuses on restoring diminished progranulin protein levels to normal ranges, with the goal of slowing the progression of FTD-GRN.
Alector’s clinical trials in frontotemporal dementia
Today, there are no approved therapeutic treatments for FTD, though interventions and lifestyle modifications can help patients and their families better cope with the disease and find support. Alector is currently conducting the INFRONT-3 Phase 3 study, a randomized clinical trial of latozinemab.