Eli Lilly shares climb as  Alzheimer's drug shows promising results in trial

A closeup of a human brain affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Shares in drug maker Eli Lilly climbed after its experimental drug for Alzheimer’s slowed the progress of the disease in a final-stage trial, paving the way for the company to apply for US approval.

The drug, donanemab, slowed the disease by 35% over a year and a half in a trial of 1,182 patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s, Lilly said in a statement. About 24% of subjects on the drug experienced brain swelling and an overlapping 31% had bleeding in the brain, side effects that have been seen with similar drugs.