Why It ’s Hard to Get the New Alzheimer’s Drug Lecanemab

Alzheimer’s patients and their families welcomed the news on Jan. 6 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi, is made by Eisai and Biogen for people in the early stages of the disease. The FDA granted lecanemab accelerated approval based on early phase testing results, and it’s now reviewing the companies’ completed data for consideration of traditional, full approval. It’s only the second drug approved to treat Alzheimer’s, not just address symptoms. Doctors can now prescribe the medication, but many patients won’t be able to afford it. Eisai said the drug, which is given every two weeks via an IV infusion at a doctor’s office or clinic, will cost about $26,500 a year. While it’s not clear yet how long people will need to take the drug, Ivan Cheung, Eisai Inc.’s CEO, estimated that most people might need to take it at least three years. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Here’s what to know about why lecanemab will be out of reach for most patients. Medicare won’t cover lecanemab The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not cover medications granted accelerated—not full—approval in lecanemab’s category: treatments that target a protein called amyloid in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. That decision goes back to the drug that preceded lecanemab, called aducanumab ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Aging healthscienceclimate Source Type: news