Alzheimer’s drugs: Lecanemab and donanemab to be reconsidered for NHS after appeal

NHS watchdogs will re-evaluate their decision not to fund two new Alzheimer’s treatments on the health service after appeals from the drugs’ manufacturers.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also confirmed that the reassessment will take place under new, and controversial, cost effectiveness thresholds that were agreed as part of a trade deal with the US.1NICE previously concluded in June234 that lecanemab and donanemab should not be provided on the NHS for treating mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease.Despite substantial interest in the drugs from patient representative groups NICE determined that neither was a cost effective use of NHS resources.The treatments were estimated to cost five to six times more than the threshold NICE can normally recommend, with high rollout costs including both regular infusions and monitoring of side effects such as swelling and brain bleeds.But NICE has now said it will review...