A wonder drug that can slow down Alzheimer’s disease is set to be approved for use in Britain.
Lecanemab is the first treatment that has been found to curb the condition – slowing cognitive decline by 27 per cent.
Experts have hailed it as ‘the beginning of the end’ for the disease, which affects up to 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 to roll out the treatment on the NHS.
Alzheimer’s disease affects up to 900,000 Britons (Stock Image)
Lecanemab, sold under the brand name Leqembi, is a monoclonal antibody medication used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss
The drug, which is given every two weeks through an IV drop, was authorised in the US last year.
However last month the European Medicine Agency refused to license the drug due to concerns over side effects such as ‘swelling’ and ‘potential bleedings in the brain’.
Professor John Hardy, from the UCL Institute of Neurology, described the drug as ‘the biggest breakthrough in Alzheimer’s for decades’.
He has previously praised the ‘game-changing’ treatment as the ‘beginning of the end’ for Alzheimer’s.
However Dr Max Pemberton noted in his Daily Mail column last week that lecanemab – as well as another Alzheimer’s drug donanemab – is ‘likely to result in only a small improvement in symptoms’.
The drug was found to slightly improve cognition but could have significant side-effects, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found (Stock Image)
A scientist picks up a sample used for research into Alzheimer’s disease
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year found the drug slightly improved cognition but could have significant side-effects.
A spokesman for the MHRA told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We are currently completing a rigorous assessment of the evidence supporting lecanemab in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.’
They added that further information will be ‘communicated in due course’.