Today, the UK’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, approved the new Alzheimer’s drug, lecanemab, for use in the UK. However, an interim provisional decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has deemed lecanemab not cost-effective for the NHS. As a result, for now at least, the drug will only be available privately.
What is lecanemab?
Lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, is a disease-modifying drug used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It works with the body's immune system to reduce the build-up of the protein amyloid, clumps of which are believed to be a key cause of dementia.
Alzheimer Scotland response
Henry Simmons, Chief Executive said:
"Alzheimer Scotland welcomes the decision by the UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to approve Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab for sale in Great Britain.
"While this is clearly an important milestone in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, we are devastated that the drug is not considered value for money for the NHS in England and Wales.
"An interim decision made by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) means that, as it stands, people in the early stages of the disease will not be able to access lecanemab on the NHS in England and Wales.
"Unless this position changes, only those who can afford to pay the estimated annual cost of £20,000 to buy lecanemab privately will benefit from this potentially life-changing treatment. Yet again it seems like people with dementia are being pushed to the back of the queue when it comes to NHS spending.
"This is an incredibly short sighted decision that seems to focus solely on a financial cost-benefit analysis, rather than considering the human cost of this disease.
"The impact that lecanemab could have on the quality of life of someone with Alzheimer's is unquestionably worth the current stated costs.
"While we understand this drug is not a silver bullet, it’s probably the most important first step we can take on a journey towards an effective disease modifying treatment.
"It is important to understand that this treatment will be available for a small number of people who meet the criteria, who are at the very early stages of the disease. It’s not a universal treatment that would be rolled out to all 90,000 people in Scotland living with dementia.
"We will be doing all we can to influence and respond to NICE’s consultation on lecanemab, and we hope that the independent Scottish Medicines Consortium will reach a positive decision.
"As far as we are concerned, this is fundamentally about the human rights of people with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s to receive treatment.
"Scotland has already led the way in developing brain health services through our partnership with Scottish Government and NHS Grampian in particular. This model fits entirely with the types of changes within the system that would be required to meet the needs of individuals eligible to receive this new drug, and we hope that this can be built upon going forward.
"It is unacceptable to reject a drug treatment simply because of challenges around securing early diagnosis or delivering it intravenously.
"We call on the Scottish Medicines Consortium to not follow the interim recommendation by NICE and to instead measure the benefits of this new treatment in terms of the enormous impact it could have on the quality of life for people with Alzheimer’s. We must take this step forward and not hold back in any way."
If you have been affected by today’s decision and require support, please contact the 24-hour Freephone Dementia Helpline at 0808 808 300, or email helpline@alzscot.org.