Alzheimer's drug fails in one study

NEW YORK (AP) -- Drug maker Pfizer Inc. says a closely watched experimental Alzheimer's drug didn't slow the disease in one of two late-stage studies, but a second study in a different group of patients is continuing.

Pfizer, which is testing bapineuzumab with partner Johnson & Johnson, says the injected drug didn't slow mental or functional decline in patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease. The study included patients who carry a gene called ApoE4, which gives people a higher risk of developing the memory-robbing disorder.

About half the population does not carry that gene, however, and Pfizer says a study of the drug in patients without the gene is continuing. Results of that study are expected to be announced later this summer.