Backing urged for Alzheimer’s drug that could help thousands

Alzheimer’s experts are calling on the Scottish Government to back a new treatment which can prevent the disease progressing.

They say Scotland leads the world on development and research into the disease which affects 90,000 Scots and causes one in 10 deaths.

New drug Lecanemab has been passed by UK drugs watchdogs as a “safe and effective treatment”.

But it is not yet available to the NHS because England’s drug watchdog NICE said it was too expensive.

With rates of Alzheimer’s set to double by 2040, dementia expert Professor Craig Ritchie hopes the drug will be approved by NICE’s equivalent, the Scottish Medicines Consortium.

He said: “Lecanemab is an innovative drug, one of a new generation. It very effectively clears amyloid protein from the brain. If someone is treated before symptoms emerge, they may never lead to clinical change.

“These drugs are like, in many ways, chemotherapy. They have effectiveness, but they also need to be used very carefully as they do not suit everybody. There can be side effects which have to be carefully monitored. But, once we open the door to this, further treatment and new drugs coming along can only get better.”

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The professor quit the NHS almost two years ago in frustration at waiting times for patients to see him. Now he is pushing for NHS patients to be able to access treatment before symptoms develop in the hope that by removing damaging proteins developing in the brains of potential Alzheimer’s victim, the illness is tackled before onset.

He said: “I believe around 10,000 patients could benefit from this treatment across Scotland.”

Specialist brain health centres have been established to carry out the extensive scans and monitoring needed to test for the telltale proteins at early stages.

They are looking for volunteers to begin treating patients and collect data in what will be one of the world’s biggest endeavours of this kind. The cost of providing those services and drug development costs is likely to come in at around £30,00-£40,000 per patient, but that is expected to half in time.

Alzheimer’s costs Scotland £4.2 billion a year. Henry Simmons, of Alzheimer’s Scotland, said: “Nursing care is around £80,000 a year, so we hope pricing won’t prohibit the NHS being able to offer the treatment.

“It is unfair and unreasonable for a regulator to block broader access to this drug simply due to the NHS’s lack of preparedness. After 30 years of waiting, it’s time to be bold and for Scotland’s leaders to do everything to make this happen.

“This is a first step in a new dawn for Alzheimer’s disease treatments.”

Scottish Labour’s Health spokeswoman Dame Jackie Baillie said: “While it’s important that public money is used in a sustainable way, it is only right that decision-making on Alzheimer’s drugs balances the short and long-term costs of the drug with the benefit to patients and their families.

“I urge the Scottish Government to commission a study into the potential savings for social care.”

The Scottish Government said: “Licensed medicines are appraised for their clinical and cost effectiveness by the Scottish Medicines Consortium and advice on the routine use of Lecanemab in NHS Scotland will be published in due course.”