Britain's medicine regulator said Thursday that it approved a novel Alzheimer's drug developed jointly by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and U.S. partner Biogen.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved a product license for the drug lecanemab, making Britain the first country in Europe to greenlight the drug.
But the treatment is expected to be excluded from use in the National Health Service (NHS) public health care system due to its high cost relative to its efficacy.
A clinical trial showed that the administration of lecanemab to patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease reduced the decline in their cognitive functions by 27% compared with a control group.
According to Eisai, there are approximately 980,000 dementia patients in Britain, of which between 60% and 70% are believed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
Britain's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published a draft recommendation the same day, saying, "Lecanemab provides on average four to six months slowing in the rate of progression from mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, but this is just not enough benefit to justify the additional cost to the NHS."
Lecanemab is currently available in Japan, the United States and China. Meanwhile, the European Union's European Medicines Agency released last month a negative opinion over approving the drug. Eisai has since requested a reexamination.