Today, the UK’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), approved a second Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, for use in the UK. However, an interim provisional decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has deemed donanemab not cost-effective for the NHS. As a result, for now at least, the drug will only be available privately.
This news about donanemab comes three months after a similar decision was reached for lecanemab, find out more here. We now have two approved treatments for Alzheimer’s available in Britain, yet neither will be widely available to the people who need them.
What is donanemab?
Donanemab, sold under the brand name Kisunla, is a disease modifying drug used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Donanemab works with the body's immune system to reduce build up of the protein amyloid, clumps of which are believed to be a key cause of dementia.
Our response
Henry Simmons, Chief Executive said:
“It is devastating that donanemab, a potentially life-changing treatment, has been blocked for NHS use in England and Wales by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
“Yet again people with dementia are being pushed to the back of the queue when it comes to NHS spending.
“We now have two approved treatments for Alzheimer’s available in Britain, yet neither will be widely available to the people who need them. It is incredibly frustrating and frankly unacceptable.
“NICE say the costs of providing donanemab are too high because of the need for regular infusions and monitoring for side effects. To deny people access on this basis is entirely unfair and simply upholds the serious neglect and unfair treatment of people who are at risk of, or living with dementia.
“It’s important to note that these treatments will not be for hundreds of thousands of people – those eligible will be small in number – so the costs of rolling out these drugs should be manageable.
“There are more dementia drugs in development and it would be unforgivable for regulators to continue blocking them simply because the NHS isn’t ready.
“It is undeniable that there is much work to be done to put in place the systems and infrastructure that would be needed to successfully roll out these drugs. But we have known for years that these drugs are coming and it is inexcusable to hide behind a lack of preparedness.
“Making these drugs available on the NHS would also give us the opportunity to properly test them and see the real-life impact they could have.
“The NHS across the UK can – and must – do the work needed to open access to these treatments if vital progress is ever to be made.
“We hope that the Scottish Medicines Consortium will take a different view and be prepared to build on the early work that has been done in Scotland to develop a Brain Health Clinic model, which is exactly the type of approach that will be needed going forward.“