Japan has become the second country, after the USA, to approve the drug Leqembi – developed by partners Eisai and Biogen – a treatment for slowing the progression of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Leqembi, an antibody designed to remove sticky deposits of the amyloid beta protein from the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, is the first treatment shown to slow the progression of the disease for people in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s.
Eisai is to conduct a post-marketing special use results survey in all patients taking Leqembi until it collects enough data from an undisclosed number of patients, in accordance with an approval condition by Japan’s Health Ministry.
In the US, health regulators have placed a warning on the drug’s label, flagging the risk of potentially dangerous brain swelling for Alzheimer’s drugs in the same class.
Reuters article – Japan approves Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi by Eisai and Biogen (Open access)
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