A wonder drug that could slow Alzheimer’s disease is soon to be approved for use in Britain.
Lecanemab is the first treatment shown to slow the condition, slowing cognitive decline by 27 percent.
Experts are calling it ‘the beginning of the end’ for the disease, which affects around 900,000 Britons.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is set to approve the drug for private prescription in the UK.
The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence will then decide whether the treatment will be offered through the NHS.
Alzheimer’s disease affects 900,000 Britons (Stock photo)
Lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, is a monoclonal antibody drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and loss of short-term memory.
The drug, which is administered through an IV every two weeks, was approved in the US last year.
However, last month the European Medicines Agency refused to grant a licence to the drug over concerns about side effects including ‘swelling’ and ‘possible bleeding in the brain’.
Professor John Hardy of the UCL Institute of Neurology described the drug as ‘the biggest breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s in decades’.
He has previously hailed the “groundbreaking” treatment as the “beginning of the end” for Alzheimer’s.
However, Dr Max Pemberton noted in his Daily Mail column last week that lecanemab – and also donanemab, another Alzheimer’s drug – ‘is likely to provide only a small improvement in symptoms’.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the drug slightly improved cognition, but could have significant side effects (Stock Image)
A scientist picks up a sample to be used for research into Alzheimer’s disease
A study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the drug modestly improved cognition, but could have significant side effects.
An MHRA spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We are currently completing a thorough review of the evidence supporting lecanemab in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.’
They added that more information will be provided in due course.