The Alzheimer's disease research community mourns the loss of Bruce Albala, a key figure in the development of β-secretase (BACE) inhibitors. Albala passed away on October 16 in Greece, while celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary. He was 70 years old.
A Champion of BACE Inhibitor Research
Albala is particularly recognized for his leadership in the BACE inhibitor program at Eisai. He guided elenbecestat, a small molecule, through two large Phase 3 clinical trials starting in 2016. While elenbecestat demonstrated a slight reduction in amyloid burden in individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, it did not result in cognitive improvement. Notably, unlike other BACE inhibitors under development by Merck, Janssen/Shionogi, and Novartis, elenbecestat did not induce cognitive decline, a side effect that led to the discontinuation of verubecestat, atabecestat, and umibecestat. Eisai eventually terminated its BACE program as well.
"The AD community, and especially BACE researchers, will miss his contagious enthusiasm, expertise, and dedication to patients," said Matthew Kennedy of Merck & Co.
Advocating for Safer Approaches
Despite the challenges faced by BACE inhibitors, Albala remained a strong advocate for their potential, focusing on strategies to mitigate cognitive side effects. He believed in exploring new prevention trials with lower, safer doses of BACE inhibitors. "Bruce was a strong advocate in favor of new BACE inhibitor prevention trials with lower, safer doses," noted Stefan Lichtenthaler of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Contributions to Clinical Trial Innovation
In 2019, Albala transitioned from industry to academia, becoming the associate dean of innovation and clinical trials at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. There, he dedicated his efforts to enhancing the efficiency and outcome measures of Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. Robert Vassar of Northwestern University noted that "Bruce had a brilliant career in both academia and industry and left an indelible mark on the Alzheimer’s disease drug development landscape."
Albala's contributions to the field and his unwavering commitment to Alzheimer's disease research will be deeply missed. "His wide experience, his passion for science and beyond, and his strong voice for the BACE field will be greatly missed," added Lichtenthaler.
