Eli Lilly and Co. decided to stop their clinical drug trial last Thursday even if they were halfway to completing the testing due to potential liver toxicity. Once again, an attempt to find a cure or slow down the development of Alzheimer comes to nothing.

Eli Lilly and Co., a drug manufacturer based in Indianapolis, IN., was already doing random testing of LY2886721 or BACE inhibitor on a controlled group to identify the dosage needed and the efficacy of the drug to patients. They decided to stop the clinical trial when the doctors found out that the patients had developed liver problems.

However, Lilly clarified that it wasn’t the drug that caused the toxicity in the liver. The pharmaceutical company expressed that they will still continue researching to develop an effective drug that will combat Alzheimer’s disease.

This is not the first attempt of the company, last summer they had another failed trial on a drug they were developing with New York-based drug maker Pfizer Inc. wherein they tried to mix solanezumab and Pfizer's bapineuzumab to block a protein that causes the disease called beta-amyloid. They halted the study because there was no improvement among patients.

Lilly is not the only company attempting to developing BACE inhibitor drugs. Other pharmaceutical companies such as Merck & Co., Roche Holding AG and Eisai Co. Ltd. were also in the race. The possible revenue amounts to over $3 billion annually for anyone who can develop an effective drug that FDA will approve. To date, no drug had successfully made it in the market.

According to CDC, Alzheimer ranks six on the leading cause of death in the U.S with 27 out of 100,000 people having the disease. Those aged 65 and above are at high risks. Most of the cases recorded in 2010 were in the District of Columbia. The government is also spending a lot because as of 2012, the cost had reached $200 billion with $140 billion of it goes to Medicare and Medicaid.