Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for it

Washington, July 7 (BNA): US officials have granted full approval for a closely monitored Alzheimer’s drug, paving the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering treatment for people with the brain-stealing disease.

The FDA has approved the intravenous drug Leqembi for patients with mild dementia and other symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Leqembi is the first drug shown convincingly to slightly slow cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Associated Press.

Japanese drugmaker Eisai won conditional approval from the Food and Drug Administration in January based on early findings that Leqembi worked by removing sticky brain plaque associated with the disease.

The FDA confirmed these findings by reviewing data from a larger study of 1,800 patients, in which the drug slowed memory and impaired thinking by about five months in those who received the treatment, compared to those who got a placebo.

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