Japan approves 2nd protein-targeting drug for Alzheimer's sufferers

A single course of newly approved Alzheimer's drug donanemab-azbt, the second medicine available in Japan targeting proteins in the brains of sufferers of the debilitating disease, will cost 3.08 million yen per year, a Japanese health ministry body said.

The drug developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co will be offered to patients experiencing dementia and mild cognitive impairment. The cost of the drug, to be sold under the brand name Kisunla, will largely be covered by public health insurance from Nov. 20.

The drug works by removing accumulated amyloid beta proteins in the brain, slowing the progress of the disease. Those undergoing treatment will be administered the drug intravenously every four weeks for a period of up to a year and a half, or possibly shorter if the proteins are found to have been removed.

The medicine was approved in the United States in July where the yearly cost was set at $32,000.

Kisunla will join lecanemab as an option for the treatment in Japan of early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. Lecanemab was developed by Japan's Eisai Co and Biogen Inc of the United States and was launched under the brand name Leqembi in December 2023.

The annual cost of a single course of lecanemab is 2.98 million yen.

The drugs will be covered under the Japanese system that sets a ceiling on the amount a patient must pay in a year, meaning a person's income level determines the cost of treatment.

A patient aged 70 or above with an annual income of 1.56 million yen to around 3.7 million yen, for example, will pay no more than 144,000 yen annually thanks to the payment cap.

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