Peptide News Digest

AAIC 2026 Closing Day: Eli Lilly Kisunla (Donanemab) Modified Titration Reduces ARIA-E Plus TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 Long-Term Extension Shows 2.4 Centiloid Per Year Amyloid Reaccumulation, NewAmsterdam Pharma Obicetrapib CETP Inhibitor Shows Statistically Significant P-Tau217 Reductions in BROADWAY Phase 3 (n=1,535 p=0.025 Full Analysis and n=367 p=0.022 ApoE4 Carriers), Roche Elecsys pTau217 Blood Test Presents Primary and Secondary Care Performance Data After May 2026 CE Mark, FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to SOTIO SOT109 CDH17-Targeting ADC for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

AAIC 2026 closes: Lilly Kisunla titration and long-term extension; NewAmsterdam obicetrapib p-tau217 wins; Roche Elecsys pTau217 primary care data; SOTIO SOT109 ADC FDA Fast Track.

4 stories · Covering clinical-trials, research, industry, regulatory

Editor's Note

AAIC 2026 closed Wednesday in London after four days of readouts that reshaped the tau and amyloid conversation. Eli Lilly's closing-day session on Kisunla (donanemab) delivered two useful pieces: TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 6 showed that a modified titration regimen (350 mg start, ramping to 1,400 mg by week 4) significantly reduced ARIA-E brain swelling, and TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 long-term extension data documented amyloid reaccumulation at 2.4 centiloid per year (comparable to natural rates), supporting the case for a 1,400 mg once-yearly maintenance dose after initial clearance. NewAmsterdam Pharma's obicetrapib CETP inhibitor Alzheimer's-prevention thesis got its first randomized biomarker read at the closing-day poster session: statistically significant reductions in plasma p-tau217 versus placebo over 12 months in BROADWAY Phase 3 (n=1,535, p=0.025 full analysis; n=367, p=0.022 in ApoE4 carriers), with favorable trends in other AD biomarkers. Roche presented Elecsys pTau217 blood-test data covering primary and secondary care settings following the May 2026 CE Mark, adding real-world diagnostic evidence to the tau-blood-test infrastructure. Off the AAIC track: FDA granted Fast Track Designation Tuesday July 14 to SOTIO's SOT109, a CDH17-targeting antibody-drug conjugate for advanced metastatic colorectal cancer, with a Phase 1/2 trial planned for Q3 2026 and the conjugate class continuing to build on Novartis's July 6 Myricx acquisition momentum.

Eli Lilly Presents Kisunla (Donanemab-Azbt) Modified Titration Regimen and TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 Long-Term Extension Data at AAIC 2026 Wednesday July 15 Closing-Day Developing Topics Session 'Donanemab in Early Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence to Address Clinical Questions': The Modified Titration (350 mg Starting Dose Ramping to 1,400 mg by Week 4) Significantly Reduced ARIA-E Brain Swelling Incidence, and Long-Term Extension Data Show Patients Reaccumulate Amyloid at 2.4 Centiloid Per Year After Treatment Completion (Comparable to Natural Accumulation Rate), Supporting a 1,400 mg Once-Yearly Maintenance-Dose Investigation

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) presented Kisunla (donanemab-azbt) modified titration regimen data and TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 long-term extension results at AAIC 2026 in London on Wednesday July 15, 2026 during the closing-day Developing Topics Session titled 'Donanemab in Early Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence to Address Clinical Questions.' The modified titration regimen for Kisunla used a 350 mg starting dose ramping to the standard 1,400 mg by week 4, which significantly reduced cases of ARIA-E (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with edema) brain swelling relative to the standard titration schedule. The Phase 3 TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 long-term extension data documented that patients who met the criteria for ending treatment at 52 weeks maintained low amyloid levels through 154 weeks of follow-up, with an amyloid reaccumulation rate of 2.4 centiloid per year (comparable to the natural accumulation rate seen in untreated cognitively unimpaired individuals). John Sims, Eli Lilly senior medical director, framed the readout around a 1,400 mg once-yearly maintenance-dose hypothesis: 'If someone needed it, [1,400 mg once a year] could potentially keep that amyloid down and keep it low and steady.' Lilly is running an addendum study of the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 6 trial to characterize the ability of a maintenance dose given at least a year after original treatment completion to sustain amyloid clearance.

NewAmsterdam Pharma Presents Obicetrapib CETP Inhibitor Alzheimer's-Prevention Data at AAIC 2026 Wednesday July 15 Poster Session (7:30 AM-4:30 PM BST, ICC Maritime Hall): The BROADWAY Phase 3 Cardiovascular Trial Showed Statistically Significant Absolute Reductions in Plasma P-Tau217 Versus Placebo Over 12 Months in the Full Analysis Set (n=1,535, p=0.025) and in ApoE4 Carriers (n=367, p=0.022), Alongside Favorable Trends in Other Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers — First Randomized Biomarker Signal for a CETP Inhibitor in Alzheimer's Prevention

NewAmsterdam Pharma (NASDAQ: NAMS) presented obicetrapib CETP inhibitor Alzheimer's-prevention biomarker data at AAIC 2026 in London on Wednesday July 15, 2026 in a poster session (7:30 AM-4:30 PM BST at ICC Maritime Hall) titled 'CETP Inhibition for Alzheimer's Prevention: Obicetrapib's Multi-Pathway Effects on Lipid Mediated Pathophysiology' (Abstract 2026-A-5685-AAIC, Poster 0056). The Phase 3 BROADWAY cardiovascular-outcomes trial (obicetrapib as an oral, low-dose, once-daily CETP inhibitor adjunct to statin therapy) documented statistically significant reductions in absolute plasma p-tau217 versus placebo over 12 months. Full analysis set: n=1,535, p=0.025. In ApoE4 carriers (the highest-risk Alzheimer's-genetic subgroup): n=367, p=0.022. NewAmsterdam also reported favorable trends in other AD biomarkers. Obicetrapib's mechanism is CETP inhibition to raise HDL cholesterol and lower LDL, but the AD-biomarker signal supports a dual cardiovascular-plus-Alzheimer's-prevention thesis. Obicetrapib was well-tolerated in BROADWAY with safety comparable to placebo. NewAmsterdam is advancing obicetrapib toward regulatory filings on the LDL-C indication and is in EMA review with dual cardiovascular and neurology positioning.

Roche Presents New Elecsys pTau217 Blood Test Performance Data at AAIC 2026 Across Primary and Secondary Care Settings: The In Vitro Diagnostic Test Developed in Collaboration With Eli Lilly Received CE Mark Certification in May 2026 as a Rule-In and Rule-Out Assay for Amyloid Pathology With the Same High and Low Cutoffs Usable Across Care Settings, Presented at AAIC as Part of Roche's Integrated Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics Alzheimer's Portfolio Program

Roche (SIX: ROG) presented new Elecsys plasma phosphorylated-tau 217 (pTau217) blood test performance data at AAIC 2026 in London (July 12-15, 2026) covering both primary care and secondary care settings. The Elecsys pTau217 in vitro diagnostic assay, developed in collaboration with Eli Lilly, received CE Mark certification on May 12, 2026 as an amyloid-pathology rule-in and rule-out test for adults presenting with symptoms of cognitive decline. The same high and low cutoffs of the blood test can be used across primary care (family physicians, general internists) and secondary care (memory clinics, neurology specialty practice) to rule in or rule out amyloid pathology, which simplifies the diagnostic pathway substantially compared with amyloid PET imaging or lumbar puncture. The AAIC 2026 presentations evaluated Elecsys pTau217 performance across both care settings and add real-world diagnostic evidence to the tau-blood-test infrastructure that Eli Lilly's Samantha Burnham anchored earlier in the week with the rule-in-versus-amyloid-PET data set. Roche's AAIC 2026 program spanned undiagnosed Alzheimer's pathology in cardiovascular patients, ApoE4-dependent CETP-inhibitor dose response, and Alzheimer's diagnostic-and-therapeutic integration.

FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to SOTIO Biotech's SOT109 (CDH17-Targeting Antibody-Drug Conjugate) for Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer on Tuesday July 14: CDH17 Is Expressed in More Than 90% of Colorectal Cancer Cases and Broadly Across Gastrointestinal Malignancies, and SOTIO Expects to Initiate a Phase 1/2 Trial in Q3 2026 With the Broader ADC/PDC Payload-and-Linker Race Continuing to Build on Novartis's July 6 Myricx Acquisition and Lonza's July 2 Nona Biosciences TfR1 BBB Deal

SOTIO Biotech (a portfolio company of PPF Group) announced Tuesday July 14, 2026 that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track Designation to SOT109, its investigational potentially best-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), for the treatment of patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) who have exhausted standard treatment options. SOT109 targets cadherin 17 (CDH17), a cell-surface antigen expressed in more than 90% of CRC cases and broadly across gastrointestinal malignancies, supporting the case for broad clinical utility and a favorable therapeutic index. SOTIO expects to initiate a Phase 1/2 trial of SOT109 in patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic CRC in Q3 2026. Fast Track Designation allows more frequent FDA-sponsor interactions and eligibility for accelerated approval and priority review if criteria are met. The SOT109 program extends the broader payload-and-linker-chemistry investment thesis anchored by Novartis's July 6 Myricx Bio $1.5 billion NMTi acquisition and Lonza's July 2 Nona Biosciences TfR1 BBB-delivery deal.