Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's treatment approved in China

Reuters12-18

Dec 17 (Reuters) - China's medical regulator has approved Eli Lilly's treatment for early Alzheimer's, providing patients with another option after Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi received approval in January, the company said late on Tuesday.

China is the fourth major market in which the treatment, sold under the brand name Kisunla, has received approval after the United States, Japan and the UK, Lilly said in a statement.

Like Leqembi, Lilly's Kisunla is designed to clear an Alzheimer's-related protein called beta-amyloid from the brain. In a large, late-stage trial, Kisunla slowed the progression of memory and thinking problems by 29% compared with a placebo. It also caused brain swelling in nearly a quarter of patients and brain bleeding in nearly a third, but most cases were mild.

Kisunla is sold with the FDA's strongest "boxed" safety warning on its prescribing label in the U.S., flagging the risk of potentially dangerous brain swelling and bleeding, similar to Leqembi. However, starting on a more gradual dosing schedule of Kisunla cut the percentage of patients experiencing potentially serious brain swelling, the company said.

Additionally, unlike Leqembi, Kisunla has finite dosing, which allows patients to stop taking the treatment once brain scans no longer show amyloid plaques.

The treatment is currently under review by the European Union's drugs regulator. The body in July rejected Leqembi, saying the risk of serious brain swelling did not outweigh its small impact on slowing cognitive decline. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia and accounts for about 60%-70% of the cases, according to the World Health Organization.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K) ((GursimranKaur.Mehar@thomsonreuters.com))

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap
Leave a comment