Following the approval of a new drug for Alzheimer's disease, ``lecanemab'', in the United States, a major pharmaceutical company that developed it held a press conference on the 7th and indicated that it would rush to apply for approval in Japan.
Lecanemab, a new drug developed by major pharmaceutical company Eisai and other companies, is expected to have the effect of suppressing the progress of Alzheimer's disease itself by removing an abnormal protein called "amyloid β" that accumulates in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. On the 7th of Japan time, it was approved by the US FDA = Food and Drug Administration under a mechanism called "accelerated approval" that provides faster treatment to patients with serious illnesses.
In response to this, Eisai CEO Haruo Naito held a press conference, saying, "I am deeply moved that it is difficult for a pharmaceutical company to obtain approval for a drug." , We estimate that it delays the progression of early-stage disease by about three years on average, and we believe that it will have a large social impact."
Then, he revealed that the price of the drug in the United States was set at approximately 3.5 million yen per patient per year, and that in the United States, patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease who are eligible for drug administration will be 3 years later. I showed the view that it will be 100,000 people.
The company plans to apply for approval of this drug in Japan by the end of March, but CEO Naito said, ``I want to do it as soon as possible,'' and expressed his intention to rush the procedure.