FDA Approves Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Drug Lecanemab

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Lecanemab, a breakthrough drug to treat Alzheimer’s, that is manufactured by biotechnology companies Biogen and Eisai. The drug is an intravenously administered humanized monoclonal antibody that targets amyloid, the toxic protein in the brain linked to the cognitive disease. Lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi, works with the body’s immune system to clear amyloid protein buildup from the brain. Findings from the clinical trial of the drug found that “Lecanemab reduced markers of amyloid in early Alzheimer’s disease and resulted in moderately less decline on measures of cognition and function than placebo at 18 months but was associated with adverse events”.