NeoTherapeutics Testing Alzheimer’s Drug

NeoTherapeutics Inc., an Irvine biopharmaceutical maker, said Friday that its Neotrofin drug is being tested in more than 1,500 patients with Alzheimer’s disease in a six-month international clinical study. The company said in a press release that Neotrofin, in an earlier study, showed improvement in cognition and behavior among 400 Alzheimer’s patients after 90 days of treatment. A second study, of 400 patients over 90 days in the U.S., was recently completed, and an analysis of the results is expected by year’s end. The company’s stock gained 94 cents Friday to close at $7.06 a share in Nasdaq trading.