The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) announced on the 6th that it has approved a new drug, ``lecanemab'', jointly developed by Japanese pharmaceutical giant ``Eisai'' and American ``Biogen'' as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
According to the FDA, the drug has been shown to reduce an abnormal protein called "amyloid beta" that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
This is the second case in which a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease that acts on "amyloid β" has been approved in the United States.
What is “lecanemab”?
Lecanemab has been developed as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease by Eisai, a major pharmaceutical company, in collaboration with the American pharmaceutical company Biogen.
Alzheimer's disease treatments have so far been able to delay the worsening of symptoms by acting on nerve cells, but there are no drugs approved in Japan that suppress the progression of the disease itself.
In the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, an abnormal protein called "amyloid beta" accumulates, and it is believed that this causes the destruction of nerve cells.
"Lecanemab" is intended to remove "amyloid β" by binding it to an artificially produced antibody at the stage before it solidifies, and is expected to have the effect of preventing the destruction of nerve cells and suppressing the progression of the disease itself. .
However, since it is not possible to regenerate damaged nerve cells, it is said that it is important to administer it at the stage of "mild cognitive impairment" before the onset of symptoms or at an early stage after the onset.
Eisai ``We will do our best to promptly complete the application for full approval''
In response to this approval, Eisai said, "This is the result of our ongoing efforts to alleviate the concerns of people with Alzheimer's disease and their families. We will do our best to make the medicine accessible to those who need it, and we will do our best to quickly achieve the full approval application. I will work on it," he commented.