Two Alzheimer's drugs that slow the disease will not be made available on the NHS
Summary
Two new Alzheimer's drugs, donanemab and lecanemab, are too expensive to be funded by the NHS in England. These drugs could slow the disease but are not seen as a good use of public money because of their high cost and limited benefits.Key Facts
- The new drugs are called donanemab and lecanemab.
- These drugs help slow down Alzheimer's but do not stop or reverse it.
- NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) says they are too expensive for the NHS.
- Treatment costs in the US are £20,000-£25,000 per patient per year.
- About 70,000 people in England with mild dementia could have used these drugs.
- The drugs can delay the disease’s progression by four-to-six months.
- Funding the drugs could cost the NHS around £1.5 billion annually just for the medications.
- To use these drugs, extra NHS resources like spinal fluid infusions and frequent brain scans are needed.
- The pharmaceutical companies plan to appeal against NICE's decision.
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