United States: The Alzheimer’s drug Kisunla was approved by Britain’s drug regulator Wednesday, but the government will not foot the bill after an independent watchdog agency decided that the treatment isn’t worth the cost to taxpayers.
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It is the second Alzheimer’s drug to come up with such a mixed reaction since the summer. The same watchdog agency that approved Leqembi in August also issued draft guidance in August not to buy it for the National Health Service.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said on Wednesday that Kisunla “showed some evidence of efficacy in slowing (Alzheimer’s) progression,” and it approved the drug to treat people in the early stages of the brain-robbing disease.
How does the new drug work?
Donanemab, also known as Kisunla, removes a sticky protein believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease from the brain.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE, said more evidence was needed to prove Kisunla’s worth, although the drug’s maker, Eli Lilly, says a year’s worth of treatment costs USD 32,000. Kisunla was authorized by the FDA in July.
In the US, its competitor drug, Leqembi, has been rolled out slower because of spotty insurance coverage, logistical hurdles, and bank worries.
As per NICE, the cost of administering Kisunla, which needs regular intravenous infusions and monitoring for probable bad effects such as brain swelling or bleeding, “means it cannot currently be considered good value for the taxpayer.”
The researchers at NICE added that they “recognized the importance of new treatment options” for Alzheimer’s.
What more are the experts stating?
The experts also asked Eli Lilly and the National Health Service “to provide additional information to address areas of uncertainty in the evidence.”
In Britain’s health care system, most people receive free health care paid for by the government, but if paid privately, they could buy Kisunla.
According to Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, “People living with dementia and their loved ones will undoubtedly be disappointed by the decision not to fund this new treatment,” AP News reported.
“The good news is that new treatments can slow disease even a small amount, which is helpful,” she added while adding that novel research would ultimately bring safer and more effective treatments.