'Lecanemab' : New drug for Alzheimer's Disease could be pathbreaking

On 29th November new data about a drug for Alzheimer’s disease called ‘lecanemab’ by Eisai Co. and Biogen Inc was released.The data showed a 27% decrease in cognitive decline in over 1700 people with early stage Alzheimer’s.

‘Lecanemab’ works as an antibody which clears beta amyloid that forms a plaque in the brain, between neurons.‘Amyloid’ is a protein that has been associated with Alzheimer’s for about 30 years now but a direct linkage between the two has not been established yet.

Doctors say that recent data might be enough for approval but questioned whether the pros are enough to outweigh its cons. The drug comes with side effects like swelling(in 12.6% people) and bleeding(in 17.3% people) in the brain. Two patients have also died while taking ‘lecanemab’ during the trials.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been asked to conditionally approve ‘lecanemab’ based on the conclusion that the drug reduced Amyloid levels. A decision on the same is expected in January.

In May, Biogen had stopped marketing another drug called Aduhelm (which the FDA approved last year) after Medicare and other insurers in the US hesitated in paying for it in the aftermat h of a slew of side effects. Both of these drugs claim to tackle the disease rather than just its symptoms, which is what Alzheimer’s patients are treated for today. .

Alzheimer’s is a neurologic disease that shrinks the brain and affects the patient’s ability to carry out everyday tasks. Globally, the incidence of Alzheimer’s is predicted to be 152.8 million by 2050 (GBD 2019 Dementia Forecasting Collaborators, 2022).