Overview
- Researchers at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference reported this week that donanemab reduced clinical decline compared with untreated patients and that the difference seen at 18 months roughly doubled by three years.
- The pooled follow-up tracked about 1,200 people, with roughly 600 receiving donanemab for 18 months and others switching later, and used standard dementia tests to measure memory and thinking.
- Blood markers moved in treated patients: levels of the tau-related biomarker p-tau217 fell during treatment while they rose in untreated patients, suggesting a biological effect on disease processes.
- Safety risks remain significant, with trial reports of brain swelling and brain bleeding and a small number of deaths in earlier studies, keeping questions about the drug's net benefit and tolerability unresolved.
- Donanemab is licensed in the UK but not funded by the NHS after NICE judged its benefits too small; private infusions cost tens of thousands of pounds a year and delivery would strain health services if payers change course.