TY - JOUR
T1 - The affordability of lecanemab, an amyloid-targeting therapy for Alzheimer's disease
T2 - an EADC-EC viewpoint
AU - Jönsson, Linus
AU - Wimo, Anders
AU - Handels, Ron
AU - Johansson, Gunilla
AU - Boada, Mercè
AU - Engelborghs, Sebastiaan
AU - Frölich, Lutz
AU - Jessen, Frank
AU - Kehoe, Patrick Gavin
AU - Kramberger, Milica
AU - de Mendonςa, Alexandre
AU - Ousset, Pierre Jean
AU - Scarmeas, Nikolaos
AU - Visser, Pieter Jelle
AU - Waldemar, Gunhild
AU - Winblad, Bengt
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - Lecanemab, an anti-amyloid antibody with effects on biomarker and clinical endpoints in early Alzheimer's Disease (AD), was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in 2023 and regulatory review in Europe is ongoing. We estimate the population potentially eligible for treatment with lecanemab in the 27 EU countries to 5.4 million individuals. Treatment costs would exceed 133 billion EUR per year if the drug is priced similarly as in the United States, amounting to over half of the total pharmaceutical expenditures in the EU. This pricing would be unsustainable; the ability to pay for high-priced therapies varies substantially across countries. Pricing similarly to what has been announced for the United States may place the drug out of reach for patients in some European countries. Disparities in access to novel amyloid-targeting agents may further deepen the inequalities across Europe in health outcomes. As representatives of the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium Executive Committee, we call for pricing policies that allow eligible patients across Europe to access important innovations, but also continued investments in research and development. Infrastructure to follow up the usage of new therapies in routine care and new payment models may be needed to address affordability and inequalities in patient access.
AB - Lecanemab, an anti-amyloid antibody with effects on biomarker and clinical endpoints in early Alzheimer's Disease (AD), was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in 2023 and regulatory review in Europe is ongoing. We estimate the population potentially eligible for treatment with lecanemab in the 27 EU countries to 5.4 million individuals. Treatment costs would exceed 133 billion EUR per year if the drug is priced similarly as in the United States, amounting to over half of the total pharmaceutical expenditures in the EU. This pricing would be unsustainable; the ability to pay for high-priced therapies varies substantially across countries. Pricing similarly to what has been announced for the United States may place the drug out of reach for patients in some European countries. Disparities in access to novel amyloid-targeting agents may further deepen the inequalities across Europe in health outcomes. As representatives of the European Alzheimer's Disease Consortium Executive Committee, we call for pricing policies that allow eligible patients across Europe to access important innovations, but also continued investments in research and development. Infrastructure to follow up the usage of new therapies in routine care and new payment models may be needed to address affordability and inequalities in patient access.
KW - Antibodies against amyloid b-peptide
KW - Health economics
KW - Lecanemab
KW - Mild AD
KW - Passive immunotherapy
KW - Pricing
KW - Prodromal AD
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159583413&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100657
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100657
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37251789
SN - 2666-7762
VL - 29
JO - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
JF - The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
M1 - 100657
ER -