The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced full approval of lecanemab for early-stage Alzheimer's.
MURRAY — Ren Willie likes to tell simple jokes and sprinkle puns into conversations. Those jokes and puns, he says, are always clean and basically on a junior high level. That makes sense because he was a junior high resource and health teacher for many years.
So he and his wife of 45 years, Jane Willie, were among Alzheimer's patients and their families paying close attention Thursday when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced full approval of lecanemab for early-stage Alzheimer's. It's the first drug shown to delay the progression of the disease.
It's not clear that Ren Willie will qualify, and his doctor may not ever prescribe it, the Willies told Deseret News. Or that he would choose to take the drug, which has the potential for significant side effects. But they feel strongly that medications approved by the FDA should be available, the decision between doctor, patient and pocketbook. Those with Alzheimer's typically look to Medicare for help with costs.
Lecanemab is only approved for early Alzheimer's and there have been some side effects reported, including rare but concerning brain bleeds. The drug slows cognitive impairment by about 27%, according to the clinical trials. That raises the specter of a veteran being treated while a spouse in a similar stage of Alzheimer's could be denied the treatment.
But the Willies believe access to the drug was worth rallying around. Once a drug is approved, even in accelerated form, it should be covered, they said.
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