New Alzheimer’s Drug Approved by FDA: What You Need to Know
The Food and Drug Administration recently gave the green light to a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, adding to a range of treatments that have garnered mixed reactions from the medical community.
The newly approved drug, donanemab, will be marketed under the name Kisunla. Clinical trials have shown that Kisunla can moderately slow cognitive decline in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. However, it does come with safety concerns, such as brain swelling and bleeding.
Manufactured by Eli Lilly, Kisunla is similar to another approved drug, Leqembi. Both drugs are administered through intravenous infusions and target a protein linked to Alzheimer’s. While they can delay dementia progression by a few months, they also carry similar safety risks. The key difference with Kisunla is that patients can stop the treatment once the protein, amyloid, is cleared from their brains.
According to Anne White, an executive at Lilly, the ability to discontinue the treatment after achieving the desired outcome can reduce cost, inconvenience, and side effects.
In a clinical trial lasting 18 months, nearly 70% of patients receiving donanemab were able to discontinue the drug after the protein clearance, with cognitive decline continuing to slow down. The list price for Kisunla is set at $32,000 for a year-long course of therapy.
While Kisunla and Leqembi represent a step forward in Alzheimer’s treatment, some experts remain skeptical about their effectiveness. Dr. Michael Greicius from Stanford University, for example, has not prescribed these drugs due to the lack of conclusive evidence linking amyloid removal to cognitive improvement.
Despite the doubts, many patients and doctors are willing to give these drugs a try, hoping for even minor benefits in the battle against Alzheimer’s.
The road to finding a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s continues, with ongoing trials focusing on different aspects of the disease. Dr. B. Joy Snider believes that while the results may be subtle, any delay in the progression of Alzheimer’s can have a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.
The new drug, donanemab, has shown promising results in slowing cognitive decline in early-stage Alzheimer’s patients. However, questions remain about the long-term efficacy and safety of discontinuing the treatment after amyloid clearance.
As the medical community continues to explore different approaches to treating Alzheimer’s, the approval of drugs like Kisunla and Leqembi marks a notable milestone in the ongoing battle against this devastating disease.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding anti-amyloid drugs, researchers and experts are optimistic about the future of Alzheimer’s treatment. The quest for a cure is far from over, with numerous clinical trials underway to explore new avenues of intervention.
