While the regulator of lecanemab has agreed that the drug can be prescribed in England, the NHS spending watchdog has ruled in draft guidance that it is too expensive to justify the benefits.
This is a bittersweet moment for people living with Alzheimer's disease and their families. Hopes had been high that for the first time they would have access to a treatment that could slow the decline in memory and thinking. When a pivotal clinical trial was released last year doctors hailed lecanemab as a game-changer, one that could delay the need for care and give families more time together.
And patients also need regular checks with an MRI scanner to check there are no side effects in the brain. All in all, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it wasn't worth all the resources just to delay the slide from mild to moderate disease by about four to six months.
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