Alzheimer’s disease treatment stocks are focused on Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder that results in declining memory and thinking skills and typically affects people in their mid-60s.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, neurons in other areas of the brain also begin to deteriorate as Alzheimer’s disease gets worse, resulting in the loss of basic human functions and overall cognitive impairment.
This condition affects more than 7 million people in the US alone; it’s also the most common form of dementia and is the seventh leading cause of death in America. Treatments are available to alleviate Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, but there are currently none that affect the underlying causes of this neurodegenerative disease.
Alzheimer’s disease therapies that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) include: rivastigmine by Novartis (NYSE:NVS); galantamine, developed by Janssen, a division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ); donepezil by Pfizer (NYSE:PFE); and memantine by AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV).
Since there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, death is often the result for patients as the ailment causes brain deterioration. And unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease is rising in prevalence — a report from Grand View Research suggests that the global Alzheimer’s disease treatment market will be worth a significant US$15.57 billion by 2030 as more patients need treatment, and as more investments are made in biomarkers for diagnosis and drug development.
1. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)
Market cap: US$18.43 billion
Share price: US$125.81
The first NASDAQ-listed Alzheimer’s drug company on this list is Massachusetts-based Biogen, a pioneer in the field of neuroscience. The firm is focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing therapies aimed at treating serious neurological, neurodegenerative, autoimmune and rare diseases.
The global biotechnology firm’s research areas include Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. However, the launch of Biogen’s FDA-approved Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm faced a lot of pushback in 2022, both from the market and from Congress, over what was viewed as a hasty fast-track approval process and exorbitant costs to patients.
Biogen gave it another go with Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb), its amyloid-beta monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, which the FDA approved in 2023 under its accelerated approval pathway. The drug was jointly developed by Biogen and Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company Eisai (OTC Pink:ESALF,TSE:4523). It is for patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, and is the first drug shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease to win FDA approval.
In January 2025, Leqembi received another FDA approval, this time for intravenous maintenance dosing for early-stage Alzheimer’s. Later, in April, the European Commission granted Leqembi Marketing Authorization in the EU for the treatment of mild early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
That same month, the FDA granted fast track designation to Biogen’s investigational tau-targeting therapy BIIB080 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Biogen’s earnings report for Q1 shows that first quarter global in-market sales of Leqembi reached approximately US$96 million, including US in-market sales of approximately US$52 million.
2. Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD)
Market cap: US$3.68 billion
Share price: US$21.98
Acadia Pharmaceuticals specializes in neuroscience and neuro-rare diseases. The biotech’s product portfolio includes the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis, as well as the first and only approved drug in the United States and Canada for the treatment of Rett syndrome.
Acadia’s clinical-stage pipeline includes drug candidates targeting Prader-Willi syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
The company expects to enroll its final patient in its RADIANT Phase 2 study of ACP-204 in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis by early 2026 and release topline data in mid-2026.
According to the company, there are currently no approved treatments for hallucinations and delusions associated with Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
3. Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL)
Market cap: US$642.85 million
Share price: US$7.53
Anavex Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, Rett syndrome and other central nervous system disorders.
Anavex’ lead drug candidate, Anavex 2-73 (blarcamesine), has successfully completed Phase 2a and a Phase 2b/3 clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease.
In early January, the company announced positive topline safety and efficacy data from more than three years of continuous treatment with blarcamesine for early Alzheimer’s disease patients. Later that month, Anavex announced it had been issued a US patent for the treatment.
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.