On Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients.
The US agency’s approval of the drug Leqembi, also known as lecanemab, comes days after a congressional report sharply criticized the agency for giving the green light to another drug to treat Alzheimer’s patients. Aduhelm.
Preliminary data from the Liquimbe study, released in September, showed the drug slowed cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients by 27 percent over an 18-month period.
The US Food and Drug Administration said Lekembe and Adohelm “represent a major advance in the ongoing battle to effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.”
The agency approved the two drugs in a fast-track procedure that has enabled the regulatory agency to expedite approval of the drugs to treat people with serious conditions and where there is an existing medical need.
