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https://npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/06/1186225580/alzheimers-drug-leqembi-gets-full-fda-approval-medicare-coverage-lecanemab#:~:text=The%20Food%20and%20Drug%20Administration%20has%20fully%20approved%20the%20first,adults%20age%2065%20and%20older.The Food and Drug Administration has fully approved the first drug shown to slow down Alzheimer's disease.
The action means that Leqembi, whose generic name is lecanemab, should be widely covered by the federal Medicare health insurance program, which primarily serves adults age 65 and older. So more people who are in the early stages of the disease will have access to the drug – and be able to afford it.
"It's not something that's going to stop the disease or reverse it," says Dr . Sanjeev Vaishnavi, director of clinical research at the Penn Memory Center. "But it may slow down progression of the disease and may give people more meaningful time with their families."
One reason is the drug's potentially life-threatening side effects, Vaishnavi says.
"I think [patients] are a little wary because they hear about bleeding or swelling in the brain," Vaishnavi says. "They are concerned, and I think rightfully so."
Another limiting factor is that the U.S. healthcare system simply isn't prepared to diagnose, treat, and monitor a large number of Alzheimer's patients, Pike says.
Leqembi requires an initial test to determine amyloid levels in the brain, intravenous infusions every other week, and periodic brain scans to detect side effects.
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