Cited by 168Alzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchCholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 68 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 103 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

evoke and evoke+: design of two large-scale, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 studies evaluating efficacy, safety, and tolerability of semaglutide in early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease

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Published version of a preprint

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying therapies targeting the diverse pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including neuroinflammation, represent potentially important and novel approaches. The glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist semaglutide is approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity and has an established safety profile. Semaglutide may have a disease-modifying, neuroprotective effect in AD through multimodal mechanisms including neuroinflammatory, vascular, and other AD-related processes. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of semaglutide in early-stage symptomatic AD. METHODS: evoke and evoke+ are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trials investigating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of once-daily oral semaglutide versus placebo in early-stage symptomatic AD. Eligible participants were men or women aged 55-85 years with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to AD with confirmed amyloid abnormalities (assessed by positron emission tomography or cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] analysis). After a maximum 12-week screening phase, an anticipated 1840 patients in each trial are randomized (1:1) to semaglutide or placebo for 156 weeks (104-week main treatment phase and 52-week extension). Randomized participants follow an 8-week dose escalation regimen (3 mg [weeks 0-4], 7 mg [weeks 4-8], and 14 mg [weeks 8-156]). The primary endpoint is the semaglutide-placebo difference on change from baseline to week 104 in the Clinical Dementia Rating - Sum of Boxes score. Analyses of plasma biomarkers, collected from all participants, and a CSF sub-study (planned n = 210) will explore semaglutide effects on AD biomarkers and neuroinflammation. RESULTS: Enrollment was undertaken between May 18, 2021, and September 8, 2023. Completion of the trials' main phase is expected in September 2025, and the 52-week extension (in which participants and investigators remain blinded to treatment assignment) will continue to October 2026. CONCLUSION: evoke and evoke+ are the first large-scale trials to investigate the disease-modifying potential of semaglutide in participants with early-stage symptomatic AD, including exploration of effects on AD biomarkers and neuroinflammation. The trials will provide data on the potential disease-modifying effects of semaglutide and will be important in evaluating its utility in the treatment of early-stage symptomatic AD. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT04777396 and NCT04777409. Date: 02/03/2021.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

evoke and evoke+ are two identically designed phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of once-daily oral semaglutide up to 14 mg versus placebo in early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, with the primary endpoint being change in CDR-SB from baseline to week 104. Enrollment completed September 8, 2023; main phase completion is expected in September 2025, with the 52-week blinded extension continuing to October 2026.

Key findings

  • Planned enrollment is 1840 participants per trial randomized 1:1 to semaglutide or placebo for 156 weeks (104-week main treatment phase plus 52-week extension), with oral semaglutide dose escalation from 3 mg (weeks 0–4) to 7 mg (weeks 4–8) to 14 mg (weeks 8–156).
  • The primary endpoint is change in CDR-SB from baseline to week 104; sample size assumes a mean difference of −0.44 points, SD 2.6 points, one-sided significance level 0.025, and 95% power.
  • Eligible participants are aged 55–85 years with MCI or mild dementia due to AD and confirmed amyloid abnormalities; expected composition is 80% MCI (CDR global 0.5) and 20% mild AD dementia (CDR global 1.0), with up to 30% having type 2 diabetes; evoke+ additionally permits significant small vessel pathology.
  • A CSF sub-study is planned for 210 participants across 15 countries, and plasma biomarkers are collected from all participants; enrollment occurred May 18, 2021–September 8, 2023.

Methods

  • Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase 3 trials with identical designs except evoke+ allows participants with significant small vessel pathology; participants from 40 countries and 566 centers may continue or initiate approved AD treatments.
  • Primary analysis is change in CDR-SB from baseline to week 104; confirmatory secondary endpoints are change in ADCS-ADL-MCI and time to progression to CDR global score ≥1.0 among participants with baseline CDR 0.5; no futility or interim analyses are planned, and time-to-dementia progression uses pooled evoke/evoke+ data.
  • Biomarker assessments include plasma NfL, p-tau181, GFAP, and hs-CRP at baseline and weeks 52, 104, and 156; the CSF sub-study samples pre-randomization and at week 78 for AD, neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, blood–brain barrier, oxidative stress, and vascular markers.

Limitations

  • Stated: implementing the protocol in 40 countries and 50 languages poses logistical challenges and assumes outcome measure variability and effect sizes remain within the sample size assumptions; the design may lead to higher screening failure rates in non-White populations, so trial populations may not be representative.
  • Stated: continuation or initiation of approved AD medications, including amyloid-lowering monoclonal antibodies, was not a randomization stratification factor and may confound results if use differs across treatment arms; a sensitivity analysis may be required.
  • Evident: this is a design paper; no efficacy, safety, or tolerability results are reported, and baseline characteristics are to be described in a separate publication.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1186/s13195-024-01666-7

Cites

68 of 68 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

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Show all 26 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 22
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 25
38 of 38
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants with concurrent significant small vessel pathology are often excluded in Alzheimer’s disease trials.

    “evoke+ allows the inclusion of participants with significant small vessel pathology (defined as more than one lacunar infarct and/or age-related white matter changes > 2 [white matter > 20 mm] [55]) to ensure evaluation of participants with concurrent significant small vessel pathology, who are often excluded in AD trials.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The outcome measure variability and effect sizes are similar enough across the 40 countries and 50 languages to stay within the assumptions of the sample size modeling.

    “First, implementing the protocol in 40 countries and 50 languages has logistical challenges and assumes that the outcome measure variability and effect sizes are similar enough to stay within the assumptions of the sample size modeling.”
2 of 2

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Scheltens P, Atri A, Feldman H, Hansson O, Knop F, Sano M, et al. Baseline characteristics from evoke and evoke+: two phase 3 randomized placebo-controlled trials of oral semaglutide in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. J Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2023;10(Suppl 1):S92–3. Poster LP018; Presented at CTAD 2023.

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Metadata

Authors
Cummings, J. L., Atri, A., Feldman, H. H., Hansson, O., Sano, M., Knop, F. K., Johannsen, P., León, T., & Scheltens, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Lund University (SE)
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
  • University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Novo Nordisk (Denmark) (DK)
  • Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL)
Corresponding author
Cummings, Jeffrey L.
Venue
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
Published
2025-01-08
Volume
17
Issue
1
Pages
14-14
ISSN
1758-9193 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4406156729
Cited by
168
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 99 · 2025: 68
FWCI
106.43
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Alzheimer s Research & Therapy (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
Novo Nordisk A/S
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Keywords
semaglutide, Alzheimer's disease, GLP-1 receptor agonists, disease-modifying therapy, mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia, neuroinflammation, Clinical Dementia Rating, plasma biomarkers, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, dose escalation, trial design
MeSH terms
Semaglutide, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Double-Blind Method, Glucagon-Like Peptides, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Treatment Outcome

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