Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies

Abstract Anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies (anti‐Aβ mAbs) have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (collectively known as early AD) based on evidence from clinic...

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Main Authors: Xiaojuan Li, Sonal Singh, Bahareh Rasouli, Jennifer Lyons, Noelle M. Cocoros, Richard Platt, Ivan Abi‐Elias, Jerry H. Gurwitz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-04-01
Series:Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.70080
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author Xiaojuan Li
Sonal Singh
Bahareh Rasouli
Jennifer Lyons
Noelle M. Cocoros
Richard Platt
Ivan Abi‐Elias
Jerry H. Gurwitz
author_facet Xiaojuan Li
Sonal Singh
Bahareh Rasouli
Jennifer Lyons
Noelle M. Cocoros
Richard Platt
Ivan Abi‐Elias
Jerry H. Gurwitz
author_sort Xiaojuan Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies (anti‐Aβ mAbs) have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (collectively known as early AD) based on evidence from clinical trials. However, whether findings from these trials are generalizable to the real world is uncertain. We need reliable evidence on the real‐world safety of these treatments to inform decision making for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Using lecanemab as an exemplar, we outline the key considerations in designing and implementing an observational study on safety and utilization outcomes using established administrative healthcare claims data sources with the target trial emulation framework. The target trial emulation framework is a rigorous causal inference framework that minimizes common biases in observational studies. The approach proposed here can be applied to evaluation of additional mAbs as they become available. Highlights Little is known about real‐world safety of anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies for early Alzheimer's disease. Existing real‐world data can support studies of their safety and utilization outcomes. Target trial emulation can guide the design of these studies while minimizing bias. We provide key design and analytical considerations for future studies.
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spelling doaj-art-0b82adafa97a41afaf4a57cbe154b9a12025-08-20T02:22:09ZengWileyAlzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions2352-87372025-04-01112n/an/a10.1002/trc2.70080Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapiesXiaojuan Li0Sonal Singh1Bahareh Rasouli2Jennifer Lyons3Noelle M. Cocoros4Richard Platt5Ivan Abi‐Elias6Jerry H. Gurwitz7Department of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston Massachusetts USADivision of Health Systems Science UMass Chan Medical School Worcester Massachusetts USADepartment of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute Boston Massachusetts USADivision of Health Systems Science UMass Chan Medical School Worcester Massachusetts USADivision of Geriatric Medicine UMass Chan Medical School Worcester Massachusetts USAAbstract Anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies (anti‐Aβ mAbs) have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (collectively known as early AD) based on evidence from clinical trials. However, whether findings from these trials are generalizable to the real world is uncertain. We need reliable evidence on the real‐world safety of these treatments to inform decision making for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. Using lecanemab as an exemplar, we outline the key considerations in designing and implementing an observational study on safety and utilization outcomes using established administrative healthcare claims data sources with the target trial emulation framework. The target trial emulation framework is a rigorous causal inference framework that minimizes common biases in observational studies. The approach proposed here can be applied to evaluation of additional mAbs as they become available. Highlights Little is known about real‐world safety of anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies for early Alzheimer's disease. Existing real‐world data can support studies of their safety and utilization outcomes. Target trial emulation can guide the design of these studies while minimizing bias. We provide key design and analytical considerations for future studies.https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.70080Alzheimer's diseaseanti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodiesreal‐world datareal‐world evidencetarget trial emulation
spellingShingle Xiaojuan Li
Sonal Singh
Bahareh Rasouli
Jennifer Lyons
Noelle M. Cocoros
Richard Platt
Ivan Abi‐Elias
Jerry H. Gurwitz
Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
Alzheimer's disease
anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies
real‐world data
real‐world evidence
target trial emulation
title Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
title_full Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
title_fullStr Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
title_full_unstemmed Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
title_short Generating real‐world evidence in early Alzheimer's disease: Considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti‐amyloid therapies
title_sort generating real world evidence in early alzheimer s disease considerations for applying the target trial emulation framework to study the safety of anti amyloid therapies
topic Alzheimer's disease
anti‐amyloid beta monoclonal antibodies
real‐world data
real‐world evidence
target trial emulation
url https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.70080
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