UK health regulator rejects lecanemab as treatment for Alzheimer’s

MRI head scans: lecanemab removes sticky clumps of protein amyloid beta from the brain, believed to be a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Photograph: Pixel-shot/Alamy

The UK’s health regulator has rejected a drug that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, saying its benefits are too small to justify the costs of the therapy and close monitoring of patients for signs of “serious side-effects”.

Lecanemab, which is given twice a month, removes sticky clumps of protein amyloid beta from the brain, believed to be a hallmark of the disease. The drug is not a cure. But in clinical trials, the therapy slowed cognitive decline by 27% in early Alzheimer’s patients, compared with a placebo.