FIRST TRUE DRUG TO FIGHT ALZHEIMER’S IS DEVELOPED
LIFE-CHANGING BREAKTHROUGH HAILED Trials show treatment can cut memory loss
SCIENTISTS have developed the world’s first drug shown to work against Alzheimer’s disease.
Lecanemab reduced decline in memory and thinking skills by 27 per cent over 18 months in a trial of 1800 people in the early stage of the brain disorder.
It is the only drug to treat the underlying disease and not just temporarily manage symptoms.
It may be available to patients in the UK with early-stage Alzheimer’s in two to three years.
Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This is the first phase three trial of an Alzheimer’s drug in a generation to successfully slow cognitive decline.”
Dr Richard Oakley, research director at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “I believe research will cure dementia and this is a vital milestone on that journey.”
Japanese drugmaker Eisai said the results from the US trial prove the long-standing theory that removing sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from brains can delay the advance of the disease.
Unlike previous drugs, lecanemab – put into the bloodstream and developed with drugs firm Biogen – targets forms of amyloid that have not yet clumped together.
Professor Rob Howard, an old age psychiatrist at University College London, said: “This is something of an historic moment when we see the first convincing modification of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Dr Kohlhaas said in preparation for the regulator’s approval the Government must
ensure the NHS is ready to give it as quickly as possible.
He added: “Right now only one in three psychiatry services would be ready to deliver a new treatment within a year.
This is a vital milestone on the journey DR RICHARD OAKLEY OF ALZHEIMER’S SOCIETY
“These results offer new hope to people affected by this cruel and devastating disease.”
Eisai is seeking accelerated approval for lecanemab from the US Food and Drug Administration.